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Cape Town - Australia coach Justin Langer claims England are deservedly 'red-hot' favourites to win the upcoming Cricket World Cup on home soil.
England have adopted a more aggressive batting style in the ODI format in recent years and it has paid dividends with some impressive results.
Indeed, Eoin Morgan's side have beaten Australia 5-0, India 2-1 and Sri Lanka 3-1 and also drew 2-2 in the West Indies over the past 12 months, while they have also gone into their final ODI of the series against Pakistan on Sunday boasting a 3-0 lead.
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Langer feels certain that with home conditions and the crowds on their side, England will be the team to beat in the upcoming tournament.
He said on Cricket Australia's website: "They're playing brilliant cricket, aren't they?
"They're obviously the red-hot favourites for the tournament, they're playing here in their home country, they're playing brilliantly, they deserve to be the number one team in the world.
"So we're looking forward to playing them.
"There's always good rivalry between us and it's going to be nice for us to see how we're at against the best team in the world."
The World Cup gets underway on May 30 with hosts England taking on South Africa at the Oval while the Aussies get their campaign started with a match against Afghaanistan in Bristol on June 1.
