LONDON: England coach Trevor Bayliss has warned Australia that his side won’t crack under pressure if they have to bat second in Thursday’s World Cup semi-final.

Bayliss’s side lost to Australia at Lord’s in the group stage after failing to chase down the holders’ total of 285-7.

England were bowled out for 221 against Australia and also lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka after batting second.

Those defeats raised concerns about the World Cup hosts’ ability to cope with the stress of run chasing.

But Bayliss has no concerns that England will panic if they find themselves in the position of chasing down a score at Edgbaston.

“Over the past four years we have won 14 of the last 17 times we have batted second,” he told BBC Radio 5Live’s Sportsweek programme. “So batting second doesn’t scare our guys and the wickets are a little better now than they were earlier in the tournament. We are full of confidence and happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Asked about losing to Australia earlier in the tournament, Bayliss added: “I think it was more to do with the way we approached the game.

“We came in off a bad loss to Sri Lanka in the game before where we got completely away from our style of play I guess and I think there was still a bit of a hangover in that next match.

“After that the boys made a commitment to going out — win, lose or draw — to play to their strengths and we did that in the next two games and put in a good performance so it is about sticking to our processes and how we play well.”

Whether they bat first or second, semi-final success for England is likely to depend on whether openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow can enjoy another impressive partnership.

The pair have been key in recent matches, with Roy restored to the team following a hamstring injury.

The 28-year-old has developed into a pivotal part of the England limited-overs set-up, but Bayliss admits he is under consideration for a place in the Ashes squad against Australia later this year.

“I think so. Jason has had success at international cricket and that goes a long way to being able to handle the pressure so it is a definite option,” Bayliss said.

Meanwhile Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has tried to ramp up the pressure on England by insisting ‘it’s their World Cup to lose’ ahead of a hugely anticipated semi-final clash.

The Off-spinner, who controversially said he wanted to end the Test careers of some England players ahead of Australia’s 4-0 home Ashes win of 2017-18, insisted the burden of expectation was on the tournament hosts, even though England have never won the World Cup.

“They’re full of world-class players and they’ve been the number one team for a couple of years now,” Lyon said. “They should be going into this World Cup as favourites, it’s all on them. It’s their World Cup to lose if you ask me.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, we’ve only got stuff to gain. That’s the exciting thing about it.”

Mitchell Starc took 2-59 against the Proteas to move him to 26 wickets as he equalled compatriot Glenn McGrath’s record for most scalps at a single World Cup.

The left-arm fast bowler aggravated a right ankle injury by landing awkwardly in a foot hole but Starc was optimistic he would be fit to face England.

“I had a bit of ice on it but it’s pretty good. Let’s see how it pulls up but I’m feeling pretty confident with it all and have been throughout the tournament so far,” he said.

Australia beat England by 64 runs at Lord’s earlier in the World Cup, with Starc taking four for 43.

Starc said the manner of that victory has given Australia a template for Thursday, even though England opener Jason Roy, who missed that match with a hamstring injury, is now fit and in the runs again.

“The blueprint the last time we played England was to take early wickets,” he said. “They’ll get Jason Roy back for the fixture, so we’re going to have a few days now to discuss if we need to change anything but I think the way we played England last time was a great blueprint moving forward.”

Starc unsettled Morgan at Lord’s with his use of the short ball, prompting the England captain to try to hook his way out of trouble only to be caught in the deep.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen even suggested Morgan was scared of facing Starc but the bowler himself was less certain.

“I don’t know, is he? You’ll have to ask him,” Starc said. “I think the short ball has worked to a lot of people in the World Cup. It’s definitely a plan for some guys who have got a bit of extra pace. Slower bouncer as well.

“I guess we’ll have to assess where the wicket is; is it short side or long side? Whether it’s got some pace or not and see if we can get Eoin one way or another again.”

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2019