Michael Clarke refused to ramp up pressure on his side after Australia won through to the ICC Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals with a six-wicket victory over Pakistan.

The Aussie skipper admitted that nerves in the dressing room were jangling when his side were reduced to 59-3 in pursuit of 214 for victory against Misbah-Ul-Haq's men. And he admitted it would have been a very different game had Pakistan not dropped Shane Watson, who went on to guide Clarke's men to victory with an unbeaten half-century, when he had scored just four.

"It was a really close game," Clarke said. "I thought our bowlers did a fantastic job tonight and what's most important is we got a win.

"That's the pressure of finals. You're under pressure all the time and if they catch that at fine-leg, it would have been a lot tighter."

The 33-year-old insists his side will prepare for Thursday's last four encounter against holders India as they would any other international fixture.

"Its no different to any other game playing for Australia," he said. 

"I've spoken to the team about not putting the World Cup on a pedestal. Sometimes if you build something up to much it's really hard to win. Every time you walk out to bat or bowl for Australia, you want to play your best.

"They're in good form," Clarke continued. "They're playing really well and MS Dhoni is leading them very well.

"Our top four need to bat a little bit better than we did tonight, but we're looking forward to a really tough contest."

Pakistan Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who has now retired from One-Day International cricket along with Shahid Afridi, agreed with Clarke that the dropped catch changed the game.

"It's obviously disappointing losing out in the Quarter-Final," he said. 

"We wanted to win and progress in the tournament but Australia deserved that. 

"A score of 270-280 was pretty much on, but we kept losing wickets with bat shot selection.

"But if that catch had been taken, you never know, it was totally a different story. 

"From losing our first two games, the way we came back and won four games in a row, the team has done really well in the tournament, especially with the bowling."

 

Trent Bridge hosts the fourth Royal London One-Day International between England and New Zealand on Wednesday 17 June. Don't miss the chance to watch England seek redemption against the Kiwis and secure your seat now.