POTCHEFSTROOM (South Africa), Feb 25: Australia coach John Buchanan believes an England victory over India on Wednesday would provide the defending champions with the perfect preparation for the World Cup’s Super Six stage.

Should Nasser Hussain’s team beat India, they would climb to second place in the group standings and then meet Australia in Port Elizabeth on Sunday in a battle for top spot.

“If England had not been going so well, there would have been nothing worse than going to Port Elizabeth with nothing to play for but now we will both be playing a major game with a lot of meaning to it,” Buchanan said.

“If England beat India, we will be fighting them for top place in the group and that would be a fantastic lead into the Super Six for us.

“We have talked about the Zimbabwe match as the start of the second phase for us, with our first three ties as the first phase.

“What we now want to do, after a good win against Zimbabwe, is to see that continue against Namibia and then hit England with things going well in a big game.—Reuters