White: Cup a whole new game

Stand-in Aussie skipper not reading much into wins over England

Last updated: 8th February 2011

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Cameron White does not believe that Australia's success against England in the ongoing one-day series would necessarily hand them an advantage should the two sides meet again in the World Cup.

Having lost the Ashes on home soil for the first time in 24 years, Australia have responded by taking a 5-1 lead in the subsequent one-dayers, with the last match to be played in Perth on Sunday.

The World Cup starts on February 19 and, having been drawn in separate groups, Australia could meet England once more in the knockout stages of the competition.

However White, who will captain his country in a 50-over match for the first time this weekend, feels the one-off nature of any meeting on the subcontinent, plus the vastly different playing conditions, effectively makes Australia's current momentum meaningless.

"In a tournament that is so different, with different conditions and in a different country. If we were to come up against England in the later stages of the tournament it is a whole new game," he said.

"It would be a different set of circumstances. I guess it is a bit like changing formats from Test cricket to one-day cricket.

"You would probably read into it if you're the winning side and say it is an advantage. If you're the losing side you say it's not. It's a bit each way."

Honour

White has been promoted to skipper in the absence of both Ricky Ponting (finger injury) and Michael Clarke (rested).

He has already been appointed Twenty20 skipper and is confident he will be able to slip into the role.

"It's a great honour. It's something I wasn't expecting during this series to be honest," White said.

"I'm looking forward to it tomorrow and hopefully I can do a good job.

"Hopefully it isn't any more difficult (than captaining the Twenty20 side) and things go smoothly.

"I've been captain of Victoria for a long time now, I'm used to it. At this level it is obviously a bit of extra pressure but I'm looking forward to it."

White also claimed that, in spite of the Perth match being a dead rubber at the end of what has been a long summer schedule Down Under, he would have no difficulty motivating his team.

Besides Clarke, Shane Watson has also been rested for the match but White feels replacements Adam Voges and Jason Krejza will help give a boost to the side.

Fresh faces

"I don't think motivation will be a problem," he said. "A lot has been spoken about the World Cup just around the corner. I think it is still another important game for us leading into the tournament.

"There are some fresh new faces in the team as well, so from that point of view I can't see it being too much of an issue. I'm confident this team can still win.

"We are in good form at the moment, the bowling group is pretty much the same and the guys that are coming in is a good thing for this game.

"With the way the series is it gives a fresh outlook. We can go out and play with a bit of freedom and give it a crack with the younger guys that are coming in."

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