White eyes whitewash of England

Julian GUYER

Cameron White believes Australia can finish their Ashes-losing tour with a flourish by trouncing England 7-0 in the ongoing one-day international (ODI) series.

White's century at the Rose Bowl here on Wednesday helped world champions Australia to a six-wicket win and left them 3-0 up with four to play.

Victory at Lord's on Saturday will give Australia the series but White promises there will be no prospect of the tourists easing up.

Although he has scored 200 runs in three innings, White is set to lose his place at number three this weekend as Australia captain Ricky Ponting returns from his post-Ashes break.

Worryingly for England, White, whose 105 at the Rose Bowl was his maiden ODI hundred, reckons Australia have room for improvement - a concerning thought too for the rest of the world's leading cricket nations as they get ready for the start of the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa later this month.

"At the moment if we keep playing good, consistent cricket, keep bowling and fielding well, there is no reason why not," Victoria all-rounder White said when asked about the possibility of a clean sweep.

"In saying that, winning seven one-dayers against a really good side is a pretty strange thing to happen. But I am not saying that it can't.

"We want to keep the momentum going and I don't think we are playing at our total best at the moment. "There are still probably some areas that we think we can improve in, so there are things we need to work on to get better for these four games. Then, come four games' time, we are hopefully at our peak." But he stressed Australia were not complacent.

"England's a good cricket team, they'll bounce back at some stage," he added.

White is one of several players in the Australia ODI side who played no part in the Ashes series, which ended last month with England winning the five-Test campaign 2-1 with two draws.

"The big for us was to halt the momentum and then change it," said White. "We have done that now. The new guys coming in have added a bit of energy around the group.

"Not that everyone had their heads down or anything when we got here but there is a good feeling around the group again." SOUTHAMPTON, England, Friday AFP