'No team has really got close to us'
McGrath confident of beating England
Cricinfo staff
April 4, 2007

Glenn McGrath believes Australia should defeat England comfortably when the teams meet in their Super Eights match in Antigua on Sunday. However, Australia will need to keep their momentum up after an eight-day break between games, which McGrath said was "too long".

McGrath has faced England in 32 ODIs and 30 Tests but Sunday's game will be his last encounter against his old rivals unless the two sides meet in the semi-finals or final. Following on from his correct tip that Australia would win the Ashes 5-0, McGrath said Australia deserved to be favourites in Antigua.

"The way England have been playing and the way we have been playing, we should win this game pretty well," McGrath told AFP. Australia are unbeaten from five games in the West Indies, while England have lost to New Zealand and enjoyed less-than-convincing victories over Canada, Kenya and Ireland.

McGrath said England's surprise win in the CB Series in February meant little as lifting the World Cup was the ultimate goal. "They played well to finish off the summer in Australia, we probably let our guard down a bit," McGrath said. "Since we've been over here we've prepared exactly the way we wanted to prepare and we've played some awesome cricket. To be honest, no team has really got close to us.

"I have always enjoyed playing England. Potentially, it could be the last time I come up against these guys before I hang the boots up so it would be nice to finish on a good note."

McGrath is Australia's leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 12 and has also broken Wasim Akram's record for the most victims in World Cups. However, he might require extra focus to keep up that form as Australia's last match was on Saturday, meaning by the time they face England they will have had more than a week off.

"It's good you can get around the islands and have a bit of a break," McGrath said. "But when you are in a tournament like this and playing well, you want to keep the momentum up. Eight days off in between games, that's probably a bit too long."

After the England clash, Australia will have four days' rest before taking on Ireland in Barbados. They then travel to Grenada and wrap up their Super Eights campaign against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

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