Clash of styles as Aussies prepare for England

It's the first of many clashes between Ashes rivals in the coming months, and more than anything else, Tuesday's World Cup contest between Australia and England shapes as a battle of competing philosophies.

As Aaron Finch prepares to lead the reigning 50-over champions against this year's World Cup favourites, Australia's captain concedes his side tried and failed to copy England's revolutionary approach to one-day cricket last year.

Finch was part of the 2015 Cup-winning outfit that stockpiled wickets through the initial stages of their batting innings before using them to explode later on.

It's a strategy they've refined and ultimately returned to, but not after a brief flirtation with England's enticing and more aggressive style of play on their five-game ODI tour of the United Kingdom last year.

Undermanned and under-fire following a soul-searching few months in Australian cricket, they lost every game of that campaign in a bruising start to Justin Langer's tenure as coach.

It was among the lowest points of Australia's storied 50-over history.

"We tried last year to beat them at their own game and it wasn't very successful. We came up pretty short in that series," Finch said.

"That was having quite an inexperienced group at the time, there was a lot of change in the one-day side at the time.

"We saw the scores that England were getting and we felt like we had to play the same way. The reality was that wasn't our best way to play and it wasn't a side that has played together for three or four years that you can wear getting bowled out for 150 a couple of times.

"When you've got an inexperienced group, it can hit them a bit harder. It's tough to play someone else's game – you have to be true to your game plan and what your style is."

Langer has grown weary of hearing about England's approach to one-day cricket and, along with Finch who was installed as captain after that limited-overs series last year, has gradually returned Australia to a successful recipe of their own.

The first signs of that appeared in another ODI series defeat, this time to India on home soil after being bettered by their Test side, where they pushed one of the world's best teams despite still missing key personnel.

They lost 1-2 but by the return leg the following month, they had clicked. Calmly maintaining belief that they were on the right track despite defeats in the first two games of a five-game series, the Aussies surged back to claim a stunning series win.

Another 5-0 result ensued – this time against Pakistan in the UAE – and this time they were on the right side of the ledger, with Finch leading the way with the bat to leave selectors with a host of difficult decisions for the World Cup ahead of the pending returns of Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc.

"'JL' (Langer) definitely played a part in it," Finch said of their turnaround in 50-over fortunes. "Guys that have been around a while and played a lot of one-day cricket, you sensed that that's not a sustainable way to play our one-day cricket.

"You can go down the route of picking a T20-based side and hope for the best for 50 overs but in a World Cup, I'm not sure that was going to be the right way to go about it.

"I think we've got the balance well and truly right, we're playing some really good cricket with bat and ball, we're fielding really well … Overall we're improving nicely."

But until they show they can beat the best in the pressure-cooker of a World Cup, Finch and Langer know their progress means little.

They've also come to the realisation that the intensity of the tournament their country has won five times throws up vastly different challenges to the type that sides typically face in the years between World Cups.

"There was a lot of talk about huge runs and huge run chases but we haven't seen that yet," Finch said of pre-Cup hype.

"I think that is a reflection of a bit of World Cup pressure as well. In a bilateral series, you can throw caution to the wind at times, but when two points are so valuable each and every game it's tough to really free up and play that really high-risk game."

England, who have made no secret of their desire to be the first to score 500 in an ODI innings, remain the world's No.1-ranked ODI team on the back of their power-packed batting unit and the Aussies might well need to beat them in a knockout game in the coming weeks to defend their crown.

A surprise defeat to Sri Lanka – England's second of the tournament after also falling to Pakistan – exposed a frailty on surfaces that aren't perfect for batting. In the aftermath of the loss, CricViz unearthed a statistic showing that, on the 11 toughest pitches for batting they've played on in the last two years, England have won only six matches.

Finch however suggested England's slip-up is hardly cause for celebration.

"When you look at England over the last four years they've been bloody consistent, so you can't read a huge amount into it," the 32-year-old said.

"What we've talked about the whole tournament is if you let your guard down, or your mind slip a bit too far forward, any team can beat you on the day."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: England v Australia, Lord's

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE