Australia on Thursday broke a 28-year old World Cup record with a crushing 12-0 win over South Africa but neither the coach Ric Charlesworth nor the players were aware about their achievement till the end of the match.
Australia eclipsed Pakistan’s 12-3 margin win over New Zealand in 1982 in India.
“We lost our first match against England before beating India 5-2. We thought of beating South Africa by a huge margin because goal difference could be a factor in deciding who would reach the semi-finals from this tough Pool B.
“We did not have any thought of creating a record. None of us knew that was a record till the end of the game,” Charlesworth told reporters after the comprehensive win.
Even the Australians players came to know about the record when the scribes informed them during the post match media interaction.
But for them points matter more.
“We had no idea that it was a new record but we are happy having done that. For us three points are important record or not,” Liam de Young, who captained the side today under Australia’s rotational policy, said.
Star player Jamie Dwyer, who captained the side in Australia’s first match against England, also said the record was news to him.
“It is good if it is that (a record). We did not know it.
But more important we got three points and are improving every game after the loss against England in the first match,” he said.
