Under-pressure England begin their 2025 ICC Champions Trophy campaign on Saturday with a mouthwatering clash in Lahore against eternal rivals Australia.
After a miserable winter in India, England’s limited-overs side is aiming to peak at the right time and win their first Champions Trophy title as the competition returns for its first iteration since 2017.
In a wide-open Group B, they first meet a similarly out-of-form Australia, who despite recent Test success are searching for identity in One-Day International cricket.
Without several key players including captain Pat Cummins, the Australians fell to a 2-0 ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka in preparation for the tournament and will be a fallible entity in Pakistan.
Jos Buttler’s England will fancy their chances at upsetting the bookies’ odds and starting their tournament in style as a result, but clashes between England and Australia are rarely so simple.
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Squad News
Following a gruelling schedule throughout the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, Australia are without a host of key figures during the Champions Trophy.
Seven Test matches, five ODIs and three T20Is between November and early February have robbed the side of their entire first-choice pace attack, with captain Cummins and Josh Hazlewood managing “some ongoing injuries", and Mitchell Starc withdrawing for personal reasons.
At 31, 33 and 35 years of age respectively, cynics may suggest the trio are managing their workloads ahead of a much-anticipated Ashes series against England in December 2025.
Elsewhere, white ball marvel Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of contention with a back injury, while Marcus Stoinis opted to retire from ODIs on February 6 after being named in Australia's provisional squad.
This all leaves Australia relying on a second-choice pace attack, where three of Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis are likely to lead the hunt for wickets.
Adam Zampa will likely get the nod over fellow leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha and should be joined by Glenn Maxwell in the spin department, but the side’s recent experiment with three outright spinners in Sri Lanka is likely to be dropped by captain Steve Smith.
In keeping with recent tradition, England have named their starting XI for this contest well in advance of the toss.
Brendon McCullum’s first tournament line-up as limited-overs head coach sees Jamie Smith recalled after a calf injury and asked to bat at three in a surprise move.
Smith has only batted at numbers five and six in his seven-match ODI career so far but will face the music early in his first match at an ICC tournament.
McCullum is famously keen on experimentation, and his risk in this match is asking the Surrey wicketkeeper to combine his glovework with a key role in the batting order, potentially coming in during the first powerplay to continue the momentum of fast-starting openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett.
Premier batsmen Joe Root, Harry Brook and Buttler will each come in a position lower than they did in the recent ODI series against India as a result.
England’s enviable batting line-up means the bowling department appears slightly thinner, with Liam Livingstone and Root required to bowl 10 overs between them at some stage of the Australia innings.
Should any one of the injury-prone pace attack of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse pull up during the contest, England and McCullum would be left in a dire situation.
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Predicted Line-Ups
Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
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Key Players
Australia – Travis Head
The tormentor of many an England side and a genuine international white ball star in this Australia team, Head will be viewed as a prize wicket in this contest.
In his only previous Champions Trophy appearance, Head top-scored against England, making 71 not out at Edgbaston in 2017.
If he can recreate the destructiveness of that quickfire knock on completely different pitches in Pakistan, the 31-year-old will again be an annoyance to an England side in the midst of a white-ball reset.
The onus is on Head all tournament too, with his opening partner being relative international newbie Matthew Short.
If Head can soak up the initial bombs of Wood and Archer in this outing, he will set up a fantastic foundation for Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to attack – as will be his aim all month long.
England – Joe Root
An obvious pick, but Root’s recent return to the white-ball fold for England only proved how badly his country needs him.
In the 3rd ODI against India, Root moved to number four and will be asked to again fill this role, in a manner more akin to his Test role than the task that befell him in the 2019 World Cup.
In some respects, England’s greatest-ever Test batsman will be asked to step into the shoes of former skipper Eoin Morgan, who often came in after a top-order collapse and settled the innings.
Root will not be the big-hitting star of the card but never has been, while his unselfishness will be exploited for a few overs of nurdly spin bowling in time-honoured fashion.
If the 174-match ODI veteran can post anything near his 47.38 batting average and 5.89 average economy rate in this meeting, McCullum will be mightily relieved the Yorkshireman returned his calls.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The match will be hosted at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, which boasts a capacity of 34,000, making it Pakistan’s largest cricket venue.
What time does play start?
After an 8:30 toss, play starts at 9:00 GMT on Saturday morning, which is a 14:00 start in terms of Lahore’s local time.
How can I watch?
UK viewers can tune into the match on Sky Sports, with live coverage starting from 8:30am.
