World Cup 2019: Australia goes into the semifinal as underdog, says Nathan Lyon

According to the off-spinner, England is the favourite to win the World Cup.

Nathan Lyon took two wickets in the contest between Australia and South Africa on Saturday.

According to Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon, England will be the favourite to win the semifinal at Edgbaston.

England has never lost to Australia at the venue in an ODI since 1993, and when the two teams meet on Thursday, it will be a test of character for the Aussies.

“We are playing against the No. 1 team. They are favourites to win the World Cup. It’s going to be a massive challenge. We’re playing against England, in England, in a semifinal — it doesn’t get much better,” Lyon said after his team’s 10-run loss to South Africa here .

“Every time you play against England, you want to compete hard against them and come out on top. Their side is full of absolute superstars and we’re definitely going in as underdogs,” Lyon said.

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“It’s all on them… It is their World Cup to lose, if you ask me. We’ve got nothing to lose — we’ve only got stuff to gain, and that’s the exciting thing about it. We are going to go out there and compete and have fun and do it with a smile on our face. I feel like there’s a very special thing round the corner for Australian cricket,” Lyon said.

In the group league fixture at Lord’s, Australia had beaten England by 64 runs.