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Americans search for positive charge ahead of Aussies clash
USA skipper Richard Staple said a clash with Australia was a daunting task but insisted his team will not go down without a fight.
USA skipper Richard Staple looked ahead to the daunting task of tackling world champions Australia and insisted his team will not go down without a fight in their ICC Champions Trophy clash.
The Americans endured a humiliating introduction to top level cricket when they were crushed by 210 runs by New Zealand at The Oval on Friday.
From here, it will only get harder - a match-up with Ricky Ponting's World Cup winners in Southampton on Monday.
"If we have a reasonably good performance against the world champions I'm pretty sure it will do a lot of positives for cricket in the US," Staple told AFP.
"Against Australia obviously it will be a real challenge but it's something we have to do and give it our best. It will be a daunting match as they are the champions and they are playing great cricket right now.
"It's going to be tough but we'll do the best we can and come out on a positive note," added the Jamaican-born skipper.
USA qualified for the Champions Trophy by winning the ICC Six Nations Challenge in Dubai in February and March, edging out more experienced small cricket nations like the Netherlands and Scotland.
America also has a tradition of the game having hosted the first ever cricket international in 1844, when visitors Canada won in New York in the days before baseball became the dominant batting sport.
