“Our chances are as good as any other team,” Starc told reporters in London, after Australia’s win over New Zealand, on June 29. “We’ve always spoken about peaking towards the back end of the tournament, and we’re still searching for that perfect performance. We’re not quite there yet.

“We’re showing glimpses of what we are capable of with the ball and with the bat and in the field, but we have still got room to improve, and that’s exciting for this group.”

And most importantly, most #CWC19 points: Australia 🔝

It's all looking good for the reigning World Cup champions 🏆#CWC19 | #CmonAussie pic.twitter.com/G5nnZFpZir

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 29, 2019

Having already sealed a semi-final spot with their win against England earlier this week, Australia snuck into the top two with a comprehensive 86-run victory over New Zealand, at Lord’s, on Saturday.

Starc, currently the leading wicket-taker in this edition, added five more wickets to his kitty, ending with his third fifer in World Cups, the most by any bowler. He admitted to banking on his gameplan of angling the ball into the batsmen, a ploy that has worked for the Australian bowlers thus far.

“Yeah, it’s [targetting the stumps] part of my game plan. Again, it was a warm wicket today, so we were all fortunate that Finchie [Aaron Finch] won the toss and we got to bat first. I believe they bowled well at the start.”

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“I guess we keep learning from the opposition when we do bowl second, and I guess that fuller length and that straighter line for me, attacking those stumps, it is pretty much part of my game plan.”

Australia’s sturdy bowling line-up has clicked as a unit; while Starc and Pat Cummins began as opening bowlers, Jason Behrendorff’s recent burst of form has enabled him to be Starc’s mid-tournament new-ball partner.

“I think it’s [the new opening combination] worked very well for the last two games. But I think the fantastic thing about our 15 guys is we’ve got several guys that can open the bowling. We have got several guys that make up good combinations. We’ve had all 15 part take part so far in the tournament. Guys are ready to go if called upon.”

[caption id=”attachment_111848″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] “The fantastic thing about our 15 guys is we’ve got several guys that can open the bowling”[/caption]

Australia’s win on Saturday was their seventh in eight games, and extended New Zealand’s wait for a semi-final berth. Having successfully taken chases deep throughout the competition, the Kiwi batting line-up imploded in the face of Australia’s incisive bowling attack.

Kane Williamson conceded that his opposition had a better reading of the surface, and adapted to the conditions accordingly.

“They exploited the conditions beautifully well, and I suppose having played on the surface previously meant that they knew exactly what they were doing, and the tall lads hitting the wicket hard and there was some variable bounce.

“Then naturally as the game went on, it started to take that turn that we all expected.”

Having lost back-to-back games after a strong start, New Zealand have slipped to third place in the points tally. Williamson stressed on the need to focus on the games ahead, especially with a mid-table scrum hotting up the tournament’s latter half.

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“It’s been another surface that’s been really challenging and different to other ones, but we do need to move on really quickly to our next match, which we know will be different again.

“It is about moving on, and going to Durham and looking forward to a new surface, new opposition. Us, as a side, need to be really positive and play with that freedom, because when we do that, that is when we play our best cricket, and that’s the sort of mindset we need to have.”