Weak top order a worry for England

Australia have won all their matches in this World Cup - and very convincingly too - but on Sunday they'll come up against a side which has beaten them on the last three occasions. The last two defeats cost Australia the CB Series, and Ricky Ponting and co. will have plenty of scores to settle at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

England's three victories last season arrested a sequence of six successive defeats against Australia, thanks to which Australia still have a 6-4 edge in the last ten games. (Overall, Australia have a clear 51-37 advantage, while in neutral venues Australia have won four and lost two.)

If the coin falls in Michael Vaughan's favour on Sunday morning, England will - going by historical data - have a 51% chance of victory (they have a 24-23 win-loss record when winning the toss). If Vaughan loses the toss, though, England's chances of victory will drop to just 32% (13 wins and 28 defeats).

Australia have a star-studded batting line-up, but the England bowling attack can take heart from the fact that they haven't always found their best form against them. Three of their top six batsmen - Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey - all have considerably poorer records against England compared to their overall career stats.

For England, Kevin Pietersen is the only batsman whose average against Australia is considerably lesser than his career stats. Even that, though, is partly because of the two ODIs he played for the ICC World XI in the Super Series; when playing for England against Australia, he averages 48, at a scoring rate of 93.81.

England's problem, though, is at the top of the order. Michael Vaughan hasn't been among the runs, while Ed Joyce has only scored against Canada and Kenya - their average partnership for the first wicket is 20.33. England's average scoring rate after ten overs in this tournament has only been 3.58, with the average partnership during this period being 23.12. Pietersen's aggressive batting and Collingwood's steady hand has helped them come back in previous games, but against the Australians, it might be difficult for them to force a way back.

With an attack that includes Glenn McGrath, Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg, Australia clearly have a more potent bowling attack. Whether that translates into more wickets and fewer runs conceded on Sunday, though, is another matter altogether.