Finn focuses on the present

England hope their "little wizard" Eoin Morgan and a pack mentality among their pace bowlers can propel them to another win against Australia.

An eighth successive one-day international victory on Sunday, at the Kia Oval, will put them only three more away from an unprecedented top-of-the-world ranking in all three formats.

They are at pains to insist, however, that they are simply not yet thinking in terms of a 5-0 NatWest Series trouncing of opponents currently top the International Cricket Council ODI table themselves.

Steven Finn is hoping to renew his new-ball partnership with James Anderson - the Lancashire fast bowler is a doubt for Sunday, with a groin injury which troubled him in Friday's 15-run win at Lord's - and lean on the assistance too of fellow seamers Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad.

All four took two wickets in England's opening win, set up by Morgan's expert limited-overs batting in his unbeaten 89 at number five.

Finn is counting on more of the same, when the situation arises, from his Middlesex team-mate - down the pecking order among England's prospective Test batsmen after his tough winter against Pakistan, but still a 'go-to' option in the middle order in ODIs and Twenty20.

It all adds up to a potent force in 50-over cricket for Alastair Cook's fast-improving team, who have taken England's home series victories to seven in succession.

Finn is too wise nonetheless to be pontificating at this stage about the prospect of whitewashing Australia over the next 10 days.

"It is a great thing to have there but is something we haven't talked about," he said.

"No one has mentioned it. We are not looking that far ahead.

"There are still four more one-day games, and we will be looking to go 2-0 up in the series.

"Australia are not the number one ODI side in the world for no reason, and we are going to have to play some exceptionally good cricket to keep beating them."

As for Morgan, Finn is not surprised in the least that the Irishman - a friend and team-mate since both were in their mid-teens - has returned to form after being dropped from the Test team.

"I have played a lot of cricket with Eoin, since we were 16 years old, and I have seen him do it lots of times before," he said.

"It is no surprise he is doing it in international cricket - he is one of the best players in the world, especially in that sort of situation.

"To have him around with his experience - he has played a lot of one-day cricket with Ireland, Middlesex and England - is fantastic.

"How he comes up with some of those shots, I have got no idea. He is a little wizard."

Morgan's limited-overs knack and nous is down to much hard work, as well as natural ability.

"He practises a lot - we all practise a lot - but it is something he is especially good at," added Finn.

"He wanted to play in the Test series.

"(But) the great thing about the players we have is people accept (it) - I have missed a lot of cricket over the last 18 months and been on the sides working, and the only thing you can do is work your nuts off to get back into the team.

"That is what I have been doing and that is what Eoin has been doing.

"You have seen a few technical changes he has made that have made a huge difference, and he has been playing really consistently and really well. I hope that will lead to a call-up.

"He is very calm. When he bats he is very calculated. He knows what he wants to achieve and knows how he wants to do it.

"Things didn't go quite his way in the Emirates, but we are cricketers and we expect that - and we move on.

"All you can deal with is what is going to happen in the future; if he gets another opportunity in Test cricket he will take it - as he has been doing in one-day cricket.

"He went away and had time to clear his head and has come back and been consistent.

"Everyone wants to play Test cricket, and I am sure that is an aim of his."

Finn has had to restate his claims too, still on the outside looking into the Test ranks when everyone is fit but a first-choice regular in the shorter formats.

He has done much to help himself, and England, but is grateful too to his fellow bowlers.

"At the end of our marks everyone talks to each other; everyone passes on their own information that they have found has worked for them in the over before.

"It is great unit to be involved in, because everyone shares their own information.

"You have to hunt as a pack to get results.

"We are confident as a bowling unit that we can adapt to any conditions and defend the scores the batsmen put on the board for us."

Teams for the second NatWest Series match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval, starting at 1045am Sunday:

England (from): Cook (Captain), Bell, Trott, Bopara, Morgan, Kieswetter (wkt), Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Finn, Anderson, Patel, Bairstow, Dernbach.

Australia (from): Clarke (Captain), Watson, Warner, Bailey, Hussey, Forrest, Wade (wkt), Lee, Cummins, McKay, Doherty, Pattinson, Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Smith.