Kevin Pietersen has admitted he is relishing the chance to "humiliate" Australia after setting up the chance to send them home from the ICC World Twenty20 Championships.

The 50-run victory over Zimbabwe, who beat Australia by five wickets yesterday, leaves England with an opportunity to remove them from the competition if they win at Newlands tomorrow.

It is a prospect Hampshire ace Pietersen - man-of-the-match for a sparkling 79 off 37 balls today - is savouring.

He was a member of the side who slipped to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash last winter.

The South Africa-born batsman, who hit seven fours and four sixes, said: "We were humiliated last winter by Australia and we're in a position of strength and there's a possibility for us pretty much humiliating Australia.

"It's somewhere we've not been for a long time and it's somewhere that would be really fun and a really good day for England if it happens.

"I'm not saying it's going to happen but it must pick the dressing room up and get everybody buzzing.

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime because it's not often in English sport you can say that about Australian sport.

"I don't want to make this into me saying things about Australia because it's not, it's a permutation that could happen and if it happens it happens."

Pietersen's innings helped England reach a commanding 188 for nine in their innings and after his Rose Bowl colleague Dimitri Mascarenhas claimed three for 18 and Chris Schofield grabbed two for 15, Zimbabwe were restricted to 138 for seven in reply.

Providing England do not lose to Australia by a similar margin - in which case they would go out and the other two in the group would progress - their performance has almost certainly guaranteed their participation in the next stage.

For the moment, though, England are focusing on their next game without worrying about permutations and accept Australia could be far more dangerous tomorrow than they were against Zimbabwe.

Pietersen warned: "Australia looked a bit rusty yesterday but they have world class players in their team and it doesn't take them long to connect.

"I'm sure they will have been training today and trying to sort a few things out and it doesn't take them long to turn things around because they're such a great side.

"It's going to be a tough game tomorrow and we know that.

"Because we've played cricket for such a long time and haven't had a break whereas Australia's last game was in the World Cup it could give us the edge - but you never under-estimate them because they could wallop us".

Zimbabwe coach Robin Brown admitted his side would now be supporting England tomorrow in the hope they can do their side a favour and allow them to continue in the tournament.

"We just hope England win," said Brown. "We can't control the run-rates from now on, it's out of our hands and we'll just have to wait and see.

"The slower bowlers did us today. Yesterday we played straight down the ground to the quicker bowlers which helped us a lot.

"We started off well today with that 50 partnership early on set us on course and from then on we fell away when the slow bowlers came on and we tried to hit them across the line.

"They did bowl well, we can't take that away from them, and we hope they bowl as well as that tomorrow against the Australians".

Brown also revealed he had tried - and failed - to contact former England coach Duncan Fletcher to try and gain some inside information before the match.

"We haven't been successful in locating Duncan," he added. The best laid plans of men and mice go awry when you have someone slogging you all over the place in Twenty20 so we just played it by ear.

"I tried to find out what his number and went through the club at Western Province - but nobody seems to know".

Another England coach, assistant Andy Flower, also missed most of the action with a suspected torn calf sustained playing touch rugby with the rest of the squad prior to the match.