After slumping to a 3-0 defeat in the Ashes series, Australia wants to salvage something from a wretched tour by beating England in the five-match ODI cricket series starting on Friday.
“It would be good to leave England with a couple of wins under our belt,” Australia captain Michael Clarke said on Thursday, ahead of the first ODI at Headingly, Leeds.
Australia can at least count on a better record in one-dayers lately than Tests. The Aussies have won six of their last nine major ODI series, drawing two others and losing only one, 4-0 in England last year. But in that period it had also lost its World Cup and Champions Trophy titles, and Clarke insisted he remained the man to lead both the Test and ODI teams.
Meanwhile, England captain Eoin Morgan said his team is using the series to build a team for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. While the introduction of the likes of Ben Stokes, Boyd Rankin, and teenager Jamie Overton makes England under-strength, these players could be part of the 2015 team.
