Losing to England has given the kick in the pants we needed: Brett Lee
By Ahmer Khokhar
Brett Lee speaks about Australia's chances in the ICC CWC after their loss to England in the Commonwealth Bank finals:
How do you explain England's astonishing revival to win the Commonwealth Bank one-day series?
Our last ten days have been different and more challenging to what we are used to. Our form hasn't been up to our best standard and we lost three consecutive matches against England. We weren't up for the two finals and were definitely complacent. We obviously had some great preparation leading into the series but just on those days we couldn't perform.
How do you assess Australia's form going into the Commonwealth Bank one-day series and the forthcoming World Cup in the Caribbean?
We haven't played out best cricket recently. We said that right from the time we lost the first final against England last Friday. Ricky (Ponting) called us into a huddle during the second drinks break and said if we didn't pull our fingers out, things would go downhill pretty quickly.
The way we played during the five Ashes Test matches, at any stage, we could always find a way to get ourselves out of a sticky of situation. It just wasn't happening in the one-day internationals.
What do you think about Australia's prospects of winning a fourth ICC Cricket World Cup?
It's at the top of our Christmas list, to try and win the ICC CWC and defend the trophy we won in South Africa four years ago. But the way England beat us in the Commonwealth Bank Series just goes to show that if we aren't on song for one particular day or night, we could be out of the tournament.
I think now we can put the tri-nations series behind us and look forward to playing the Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand and hopefully winning the ICC CWC again too.
How much of a loss is Andrew Symonds' injury?
It's an enormous loss because the way he plays, he is adaptable to any situation in a match. He will be sorely missed but Shane Watson is an adequate replacement. Symo has been working very hard in the gym even after his operation so hopefully he will be fit for the ICC CWC.
As a team are you too focused on winning the ICC CWC?
We have spoken about the tournament but we have the Chappell-Hadlee series before then. Hopefully losing the Commonwealth Bank Series has given us the kick in the pants we needed.
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