Champions Trophy, England gear up to face injury-hit Australia: Preview
What's the story
England and Australia will face-off in match number 4 of the Champions Trophy.
The match will be played in Lahore on Saturday, in what promises to be a key Group B clash.
Both teams are looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing ODI run, with Australia struggling with a lot of players missing and England hoping to make the most of their pacers and experienced batsmen.
Team challenges
Australia's recent ODI struggles and player absences
Australia, the reigning world champions, recently lost ODIs to Pakistan (1-2) and Sri Lanka (0-2).
The team is also coping with the loss of five key players from their original squad.
This includes pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc as well as all-rounders Marcus Stoinis who retired unexpectedly after being named in the tournament's initial squad, Mitchell Marsh (back injury), and Cameron Green (injury).
Leadership roles
Steve Smith to lead Australia, England's ODI series failures
In light of these challenges, interim captain Steve Smith is likely to step up in Marsh's absence.
Meanwhile, England have been struggling in ODIs since their dismal 2023 World Cup campaign. They will hope to turn up under the leadership of Brendon McCullum.
Jos Buttler's team recently faced a 0-3 defeat against India, underlining their need for improvement.
Game plan
England's strategy and key players for Champions Trophy
England are set to go with a three-pronged pace attack of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Brydon Carse, along with Adil Rashid's spin.
Future wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith is also likely to play a key role in the team's plans.
Ben Duckett, who was in red-hot form against India, will look to give a good start while Joe Root will be their batting line-up's mainstay.
Smith
Jamie Smith to bat up the order for England
Smith will make his debut as a No. 3 batsman in the upcoming Champions Trophy opener against Australia, on Saturday.
This will be a new role for Smith, who has only batted at No. 5 or 6 in his seven-match ODI career.
England's first-choice No. 3 for almost a decade, Joe Root, will now bat at No. 4.
Apart from his new batting position, Smith will also keep wicket for England.
Information
England announce playing XI for Australia clash
ENG XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Stats
Player battles and key stats
Across 16 innings, Australia's Steve Smith has been dismissed 7 times by Rashid.
Smith has faced 202 balls, scoring 156 runs at 22.28. Rashid has bowled an impressive 92 dot balls in this duel.
On the other hand, across 4 innings, Root averages 57 against Aussie leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Root owns 57 runs from 56 balls, being dismissed once. Interestingly, 35 of these runs have come from singles.
Do you know?
Maxwell eyes dual milestone
Glenn Maxwell omes into this contest with a total of 3,951 runs at 33.76. He is 49 runs short of the 4,000-run milestone. Maxwell has 4 tons and 23 fifties under his belt. Maxwell is also on the verge of completing 1,500 ODI runs in Asia. He has scored 1,494 runs at 40.37, as per ESPNcricinfo.