Brown asks Zimbabwe players to put the party on ice

Robin Brown, the Zimbabwe coach who replaced Kevin Curran last month, has asked his players to hold the celebrations till after the game against England today.

"I told them to keep the celebrations until tomorrow night when we have beaten England," Brown told AFP. "Then we can have a full go."

Zimbabwe beat Australia by five wickets at Newlands and Brown, on his first international assignment, said that before the game he reminded the players of Zimbabwe's win on debut against Australia in the 1983 World Cup. "I reminded them of that and told the guys to go out and express themselves in our first World Cup Twenty20 game."

Brown was part of the Zimbabwe squad in the 1983 World Cup but did not play against Australia.

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, admitted that Zimbabwe had done better than Australia in most aspects in the game and Brendan Taylor, the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 60, felt Ponting's remark was a great compliment to Zimbabwe. "That's a great compliment because we try to model ourselves on them," Taylor said.

An England win over Zimbabwe will make it more difficult for Australia to qualify for the Super Eights. They play England on Friday at Newlands.