AUS vs ENG: The Champions Trophy is back and is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in 2025. Just like several other teams, the mighty Aussies are also looking to consolidate their hold on the format with several new players who are replacing the likes of the veterans, who were a part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squad in 2023.
First among them and probably the greatest would be David Warner, the veteran who has been a huge slave to Australian cricket and retired from all formats of the game recently after the end of the T20 World Cup. Warner was seen opening alongside Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh in the last World Cup; however, the Aussies will be in the quest for a batter to replace him in the role.
Veteran pacers Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc, and all-rounders Glenn Maxwell, as well as veteran batter Steven Smith, are all either too old or lacking in form. Though they have chances to feature in the Champions Trophy, the Aussies would look to land some replacements for them in the long run.
With the Champions Trophy in sight, Australia will have their first breakthrough series in the format to access their experiments in the 50-over format, and the outing will be a tour of England in the upcoming contest on September of 2024.
The first breakthrough for a player has been for Jake Fraser-McGurk. The young Australian opener has been in the buzz with his splendid performances across several competitions in the world. In his short appearance, he already holds the record for the fastest hundred in List-A cricket, having registered it in just 29 balls.
Considering Travis Head’s unstoppable form for over 2 years now, he remains Australia’s constant surprise across all formats of the game, and so will he be seen against England in the ODIs.
Though the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been picked for the ODIs, Team Australia would undoubtedly look to bring out some of their experiments, including players like Cameron Green and Josh Inglis in the role. Green has already shown how classy a batter the big West Australian all-rounder can be whenever he is provided the role to bat up the order.
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Inglis has, however, played only in the shortest format for the Aussies, and keeping aside his role as a wicketkeeper, he can be included as a batter in the middle order. With the likes of skipper Marsh at 3 and Green at 5, Glenn Maxwell might find himself more in a finisher’s role at No. 6, with the likes of Matt Short securing some chances at the veterans’ place.
With Marcus Stoinis set to miss the England tour, several Aussie players have been looking to land themselves in the role, with the biggest contenders among them being Cam Green as well as Aaron Hardie.
In the absence of World Cup-winning skipper Pat Cummins, the Aussies will be led by Mitchell Marsh, and the pace bowling will be shepherded by veteran pacer Mitchell Starc, with Hazelwood, Hardie, Ellis, Abbott, and Zampa being their only spinners. The Aussies do not have much to choose from the bunch of players on the bowling deck.
Likely with changes, the Aussies will be in the quest to build a perfect team for the upcoming Champions Trophy and will also be eyeing the World Cup title defence some years later, in 2027.