Rivals Australia and England keen for winning start in Lahore: Match Preview
A crucial contest looms in Group B as arch-rivals Australia and England face off in an exciting match-up in Lahore.
The cut-throat nature of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 means this match will be pivotal to the fortunes of both sides with just two teams progressing through to the semi-finals from this group.
A win here will put Australia or England in the box seat to qualify for the final four, while a loss will hurt those chances and make every match from here on in a must-win encounter.
Australia will be hoping for big performances from the likes of Travis Head and Adam Zampa, while key pacer Jofra Archer and skipper Jos Buttler are sure to play a crucial role for England.
It's always a tough clash to predict when these two rivals meet and this match looks no different.
WATCH: All On The Line Preview | AUS v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025
All on the Line Preview | AUS v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025
Squads:
Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly
England: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood
**Travis Head's all-round excellence | Semi-final 2 | CWC23**
Recent form:
Australia: The reigning ICC Men's Cricket World Cup champions have been a bit inconsistent in ODI cricket of late, having lost their last two series to Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively.
Their most recent effort was in Sri Lanka when they fell to a 2-0 series sweep and the Aussies will be hoping to find their best form quickly at this event.
England: It's a similar tale in the England camp, with Jos Buttler's side struggling to find much consistency in 50-over cricket in recent times and this was evident as they fell to a 3-0 series loss in India in their most recent bilateral affair.
It was a tight affair when these two foes met in England last year, with Australia edging to a 3-2 series triumph across five matches in late September.
Jos Buttler topped the run charts for England in T20 World Cup 2024.
Players in focus:
Australia: Travis Head
Head was the star performer in Australia's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup campaign in 2023, starring in the semi-final and final wins against South Africa and India respectively, and will be expected to play a similar role in Pakistan and the UAE.
The 31-year-old averaged 82 in a four-match series in England in September last year, his most recent taste of white-ball cricket, prior to a solitary hitout against Sri Lanka in Colombo when he managed just 18.
England: Adil Rashid
Adil Rashid is the sole leader of England’s white-ball spin attack since all-rounder Moeen Ali retired last year. And despite being on the wrong end of his 30s, there has been no stopping the tweaker, who has been consistent with the ball across the two white-ball formats.
Given the injury blow to all-rounder Jacob Bethell, only Liam Livingstone and Joe Root remain as slow bowling support acts for Rashid, meaning that the leg-spinner will have to do the bulk of the work in the spin department.
Adil Rashid was Player of the Match as England cruised to a big win over Oman.
How to watch:
India: JioStar (Live streaming on Jio Hotstar, Television coverage on Star and Network 18 channels)
Pakistan: PTV and Ten Sports, Streaming options: Myco and Tamasha app
UAE and MENA: CricLife Max and CricLife Max2, Streaming option: STARZPLAY
UK: Live broadcasting on Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action, Digital coverage via SkyGO, NOW and Sky Sports App
USA and Canada: WillowTV, Streaming on Willow by Cricbuzz app (Hindi coverage available)
Caribbean: ESPNCaribbean on TV, Streaming via ESPN Play Caribbean app
Australia: PrimeVideo (coverage available in Hindi too)
New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ, digital coverage via Now and SkyGo app.
South Africa and sub-Saharan territories: SuperSport and SuperSport App
Bangladesh: Nagorik TV and T Sports for linear broadcast, digital via Toffee app
Afghanistan: ATN
Sri Lanka: Maharaja TV (TV1 on Linear), Digital via Sirasa
The games can also be viewed on ICC.tv (In select territories)
