Joe Root Downplays Distraction from the Aussies.
Joe Root believes that all the talks leading up to England’s semi-finals match against Australia won’t be a distraction. The two teams will meet on Thursday at Edgbaston as the second semi-final game of the tournament, just weeks before the start of the Ashes.
Nathan Lyon, Australia’s off-spinner, said that “it’s England’s World Cup to lose” in an attempt to make the Brits lose focus. Root commented on this and simply said that “Nathan has a lot to say, a lot of the time, so you can just take it with a pinch of salt.”
“I think that there have been times within games when it has got a bit spicy and there have been a few exchanges on the field… But generally, we will go about things in our own way and just get ourselves ready as best we can,” added Root. It is worth noting that Root and Australia’s David Warner were involved in a disagreement in a bar in Birmingham during the 2014 Champion’s Trophy.
England has yet to win the World Cup and has made their last appearance back in 1992, while the five-time and defending world champions Australia have never lost a World Cup semi-final. However, England has won the last 10 one-day international matches between the two teams.
“There has been a lot made of the fear factor of playing against Australia, but I think this group of players over the last four years, their experience against Australia are very positive,” said Root. “They have got a lot of success in the bank. We will be drawing on that confidence that over a long period of time now we have been successful against Australia and we should take that into Thursday... It’s a great chance and a great week; it does feel special.”
England has odds of 1.68 while Australia has odds of 2.24. To find out more about how sports odds work, check out Betwala's article.
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