England will look to launch their bid to win a maiden World Cup title when they face co-hosts Australia on February 14, having been thrashed by their arch-rivals just last week. The recent tri-series saw England lose three times to Australia, with the final in Perth ending in a crushing 112-run defeat for Eoin Morgan's men.
Significantly, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson marked his first appearance of 2015 with a decisive spell of three top-order wickets in just 10 balls that included the left-armour bowling Morgan first ball.
The way in which the World Cup is structured means England should still qualify for the quarter-finals regardless of the outcome of their Valentine's Day opener.
However, the Australia match was symptomatic of some longstanding England failings in one-day cricket with a promising performance in the field falling away towards the end of the innings before 'extreme' bowling, in this case sheer pace rather than sharp spin, proved their undoing.
After the Perth fixture, a defiant Morgan said: "We strive to get the best out of ourselves. If we do that we'll be a very dangerous side regardless of who we're playing."
But his protestations that England were not under pressure were met with a withering response from Johnson.
"I think they are dreaming if they think they are not under pressure," Johnson said. "Every team is going to be under pressure."
It has not all been doom and gloom for England, the last of whose three losing World Cup finals was in Australia in 1992, on this latest trip 'Down Under'.
Experienced batsman Ian Bell made scores of 88 not out against defending champions India and 141 against the Aussies in Hobart earlier in the tri-series.
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