Australia might currently be sitting pretty at the top of the points table, but speedster Mitchell Starc believes that his side is still searching for the ‘perfect performance’ in the ongoing World Cup, in their quest to peak closer to the knockout stages.

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

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