Australia's best is yet to come, warns Waugh

Australia may have a 100 per cent record in the NatWest Series against England and Pakistan but, worryingly for their opponents, skipper Steve Waugh says his side are still some way off their best.

Tomorrow at Old Trafford, Australia take on an England side who must win all their remaining games to have any chance of qualifying for the final at Lord's.

But Waugh's words warning that the best is yet to come from his side could disconcert a few English hearts and minds.

"I don't think we have peaked at all yet - we are a long way from that," he said.

"The batting has been pretty good, and the fielding has too. But the bowling has just been satisfactory.

"We are probably playing about 70 per cent as well as we can play - so there is a long way to go."

However, the Australian skipper did offer some crumbs of comfort to an England side that have just lost their eighth One-Day International in a row - an unwanted record for the host nation.

"They will be encouraged by the way they have come back in the last couple of games," said Waugh. "They have improved but they just have not been finishing matches off.

"They probably panicked in the last ten overs, but that sort of thing comes with experience and confidence.

"There is no doubt they have the talent there. They will make the breakthrough sooner rather than later."

It has not been all bad news for England. Marcus Trescothick has discovered a rich vein of form while Middlesex's Owais Shah has burst on to the scene with an unbeaten 28 and a determined 62 in his appearances so far.

Middlesex coach Mike Gatting said: "He has always had ability, it was just a question of bringing it through and he's always had a good head on his shoulders which helps in pressure situations.

"When I first came across him he had a bit of growing up to do, but the great talent was always there. He had all the shots but his shot selection was sometimes not good - he'd be playing like God and all of a sudden wallop, one up in the air.

"I got very frustrated with him at times because I knew he had the ability and I may not have handled it well at times, but it's great to see him reap the rewards now.

"It was wonderful to see him bat with Ben Hollioake at Bristol. He seemed so sensible and mature and he performed well under pressure against Pakistan to get England close."

As for Shah himself, he's just relishing the moment. "I think I'm just an average 22-year-old really," he said. "I don't think you can play for England just on potential - you have to perform and put runs on the board and that's what I've been trying to do for Middlesex.

"I had a terrible year last year and scored only about 400 runs, which is terrible for a professional batsman, and I've had other bad years, but I want to score 1,000 runs this year because I've never done that before.

"If I don't enjoy batting at the moment, I'm never going to enjoy it, am I? I've had a reasonable start to the season that I am enjoying personally and everyone at Middlesex is enjoying the start we've had."

Shah is almost certain to play at Old Trafford, particularly as Graham Thorpe has been ruled out for another week because of a calf injury.

As for Australia, who will be without injured paceman Nathan Bracken and are waiting on the fitness of Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming, they will continue their squad rotation policy. It is likely that one of Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting or Damien Martyn will be rested.

England (from): AJ Stewart (Surrey, wkt & capt), ME Trescothick (Somerset), NV Knight (Warwickshire), MP Vaughan (Yorkshire), OA Shah (Middlesex), BC Hollioake (Surrey), DG Cork (Derbyshire), MA Ealham (Kent), D Gough (Yorkshire), AR Caddick (Somerset), AD Mullally (Hampshire), AD Brown (Surrey), RDB Croft (Glamorgan).

Australia (from): SR Waugh (capt), ME Waugh, AC Gilchrist (wkt), RT Ponting, DR Martyn, MG Bevan, A Symonds, ML Hayden, IJ Harvey, SK Warne, B Lee, GD McGrath, J Gillespie, D Fleming.