Champions Trophy news: Can England recapture white-ball form and bid for unexpected glory?

The ninth installment of the ICC Champions Trophy is underway after an eight-year hiatus as Pakistan welcomes back a major international tournament for the first time since 1996.

For England, in a year defined by the fortunes of the Test side, with a home series against India and an Ashes Down Under on the horizon, the Champions Trophy may not be high on the list of priorities.

But it offers an important opportunity for England to rediscover a winning formula again in one-day cricket after a disappointing 18 months.

Jos Buttler’s side kick-start their campaign against the old enemy Australia in Lahore on Saturday, knowing this competition format leaves very little wiggle room for error.

Sports News Blitz cricket writer Dom Harris takes a look at what to expect.

Expectations at rock bottom

Rewind to November 2022 in Melbourne, England had just beaten Pakistan in the World T20 final to hold both white-ball titles. Since then, however, it has been a struggle.

A year later, the 50-over World Cup defence in India was shambolic, finishing seventh with just three wins from nine games. 

Their World T20 crown was also conceded with a whimper, suffering a heavy semi-final defeat to India after having only scraped through the initial group stage which spelled the end for head coach Matthew Mott.

It is in one-day cricket in particular where the drop-off has been most evident since their long-awaited success in 2019, although this should not come as much surprise given the lack of attention England – and almost every other country to that end – have paid to the format in recent years.

In the four bilateral series since the 2023 World Cup, England have lost all four which included two defeats to West Indies who had failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Brendon McCullum has taken on the responsibility of the white ball set-up as well, hoping to reinvigorate the side in the same manner as the Test team, though the recent tour of India indicates he may have his work cut out.

The chastening defeat in losing seven out of eight games across both ODI and T20 only raised more questions around game awareness and general attitude to preparation.

Not only were England beaten, they were completely outplayed for most of the tour.

Their focus on being entertaining to watch often brought about repeat mistakes with the bat, whilst an attack packed with express pace looked rather one-dimensional and devoid of ideas against an in-form and classy batting line-up.

The distinct lack of all-rounders to choose from meant the team has appeared rather unbalanced at times in terms of batting depth, whilst the spin options in support of Adil Rashid are limited in what will be favourable conditions.

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Are there any positives?

Despite the dark cloud hanging over this England side, they do still have the firepower to be in the mix at this tournament.

Phil Salt and Ben Duckett passed 50 for the opening stand in swift style on all three occasions during the ODI series against India, though both were guilty of giving their wicket away in cheap fashion so will be hoping to convert these positive starts into big scores in what is expected to be a high-scoring competition.

Joe Root has returned to the fold for the first time since the 2023 World Cup and should add some much-needed stability to the batting line-up, particularly against spin bowling.

Harry Brook endured a rare lean series against India but is returning to a country where he has had a lot of success previously – an average of 83 is his highest in any country.

Much will rely on the genius of England’s trump card Adil Rashid but the availability of both quicks Jofra Archer and Mark Wood is a huge boost, whilst wildcard selection Jamie Overton showed his value with the ball on occasions even if he was a little exposed at number seven.

England are relieved to have been able to shake off a few injury concerns around the camp and head into the Australia clash with a clean bill of health.

Duckett has been declared fit following a scan on his groin and Brydon Carse is available again after suffering a toe injury during the India ODI series.

Archer (hand) and Overton (hamstring) have both been given the green light, whilst wicketkeeper Jamie Smith has also returned after being sidelined for much of the India tour with a calf problem.

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Squad news

Injuries and late withdrawals have been a common theme in the build-up to this competition, although England have remained relatively unscathed.

Jacob Bethell is the only one named in the original 15-man squad to be ruled out, suffering a hamstring injury against India to be replaced by the in-form batter Tom Banton.

England have already named their XI for Saturday’s opener in Lahore, with Smith coming into the side at number three in place of Banton from the final ODI against India and will take the gloves from Salt.

Archer and Wood have been selected in what is a rare occasion for England’s pace duo to strike up a partnership since the 2019 World Cup, whilst Carse has been chosen as the third seamer ahead of Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson after impressing throughout the winter.

Liam Livingstone’s finishing capabilities with the bat will be in the spotlight once again but the all-rounder also has a key role with the ball as England’s second spinner and may well be required to bowl his allotted ten overs.

England XI v Australia: Salt, Duckett, Smith (wk), Root, Brook, Buttler (c), Livingstone, Carse, Archer, Rashid, Wood.

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What about their Group B opponents?

England are in Group B alongside Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan in what is a very open group when it comes to qualification for the last four.

Australia find themselves in a fairly similar position to England. 

Having beaten India in a hotly-contested Border-Gavaskar Trophy and with a World Test Championship final date looming, the Champions Trophy and 50-over cricket in general does not appear of major significance to them.

They managed to shoehorn a couple of ODIs in at the end of their recent Test tour to Sri Lanka, losing both convincingly, and had previously lost a home series to Pakistan in November.

The squad has also faced major disruption in recent weeks with stalwart pace trio Pat Cummins (injury), Josh Hazlewood (injury), and Mitchell Starc (personal reasons) all missing, whilst high profile all-rounders Mitchell Marsh (injury) and Marcus Stoinis (retired) also had to be replaced late on.

With a depleted bowling attack, the current World Cup champions are definitely there for the taking, but they are a dangerous side to write off in major tournaments and still have a strong core of match winners in Travis Head, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Adam Zampa who can take them far.

South Africa have a squad with all bases covered and are more than capable of winning this tournament. 

After reaching the semi-finals at the last World Cup and agonisingly falling short in the final of the World T20 against India last year, the Proteas will feel it is their time to go one better.

They have a strong engine room which includes Aiden Markram and one of the world’s most destructive batters in Heinrich Klaasen. 

Tall quick Marco Jansen arrives after finishing the SA20 as the highest wicket-taker and player of the tournament, and forms a strong partnership with Kagiso Rabada, with spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi also expected to operate well in these conditions.

They have also been impacted with injuries to pace bowlers Gerald Coetzee and Anrich Nortje, whilst they lost both games of the tri-series in Pakistan against the hosts and New Zealand with a number of key players unavailable due to participation in the latter stages of their domestic franchise competition.

Afghanistan are featuring at the Champions Trophy for the very first time, having proved they are more than capable of mixing it with the established big boys.

A competitive sixth-placed finish at the 2023 World Cup included memorable victories over England and Pakistan, whilst only one of the greatest individual innings of all time by Maxwell denied them a famous win against eventual winners Australia.

However, Jonathan Trott’s side exacted revenge on the Aussies at the T20 World Cup last year during their historic run to the semi-final stage which also saw them conquer New Zealand en route.

In Rashid Khan, they have a talismanic leader on the field and the highest wicket-taker in T20 history. 

Meanwhile, the likes of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, and wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad have all impressed in recent years and gained increasing franchise exposure.

Questions remain if they have the firepower and experience to challenge in white ball’s longest format, but they will certainly fancy their chances of causing another upset or two.

There is no doubt England have the talent to go all the way and claim their maiden Champions Trophy title, although recent performances and the clear struggle to adapt to subcontinent conditions makes that difficult to envisage against three teams that all had the better of them at the last World Cup.

England fixtures

Australia, Lahore, Saturday 22nd February, 09:00 (UK)

Afghanistan, Lahore, Wednesday 26th February, 09:00 (UK)

South Africa, Karachi, Saturday 1st March, 09:00 (UK)

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