PORT ELIZABETH, March 3: England skipper Nasser Hussain dismissed claims from Australian captain Ricky Ponting that when it comes to battles between the old foes, his team simply lose their heads.

The two-wicket World Cup defeat here on Sunday was England’s 14th in a row against the world champions but Hussain denied his men were at a mental loss on how to cope with the Aussie juggernaut.

“It was just a case of someone like Andy Bichel coming into the side taking seven wickets and then scoring those runs at number ten,” explained the England captain.

But Ponting was more than happy to open the wounds a little more.

“England performed their skills better than us for most of the day but when Andy Bichel hit a six and a four off the second to last over, we stole the game from them.

“I believe that England allowed a lot of doubts to creep into their minds and asked themselves: ‘Is this going to be another day when the Australians get up and steal the game away from us just like before?

“I have no doubt that these thoughts came into their minds at some stage,” said Ponting.

“It’s bloody disappointing,” admitted Hussain. “We had it there again, we just needed another wicket.”

England’s hopes of going through to the second stage now rest on Pakistan beating Zimbabwe on Tuesday with Hussain hoping his team’s run-rate is superior to that of the Asian giants.

“We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. We’ve played some good cricket so far. We’ve got stuck on a dodgy wicket the other night.”

Hussain said he would have no complaints whatever the outcome of the Bulawayo match.

“You get what you deserve in this game. I don’t know if I’ll watch the game. We’ll know at the end of the day on Tuesday.”—AFP