ENGLAND FOCUS
England have been the most impressive team so far in this edition of the ICC Champions Trophy.
While all other teams haven’t been fully convincing at the tournament, the hosts have won twice in as many matches.
This continues the trend of England being a much-improved one-day outfit since they were eliminated in the group stages at the 2015 World Cup.
The only worry for Eoin Morgan’s side is the form of Jason Roy at the top of the order. The right-handed opener has managed just 47 runs in his last seven innings, with there being calls for the in-form Jonny Bairstow to be included in the playing eleven.
However, the England team management are likely to keep faith in Roy for the match against arch-rivals Australia.
Speaking about Roy, skipper Morgan said: “The thing that we emphasize is that we believe a score is around the corner. Let’s hope it’s tomorrow.”
AUSTRALIA FOCUS
Australia have seen both their games so far in the tournament end without a result possible and that means that they find themselves in a must-win situation here.
The two-time Champions Trophy winners failed to make it to the final four in the previous edition in 2013 and will not want a repeat of the same here.
Australian captain Steve Smith hopes that his side will be at their best as they have often been in similar situations in the past.
“Obviously, a must-win match for us. It usually does bring out the best in the Australian cricket team, in big tournaments. So, let’s hope this is the case tomorrow,” said Smith on the eve of the game.
DATE, TIME, VENUE INFO
Date: June 10, 2017 (Saturday)
Time: 13:30 GST, 10:30 local, 09:30 GMT, 15:00 IST, 14:30 PKT
Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham
WHERE TO WATCH, LIVE STREAMING INFO
TV: UAE – OSN Sports Cricket HD
Full coverage on Sport360.com.
PROBABLE ENGLAND XI: Roy, Hales, Root, Morgan (c), Stokes, Buttler (wk), Ali, Rashid, Plunkett, Wood, Ball.
PROBABLE AUSTRALIA XI: Warner, Finch, Smith (c), Head, Henriques, Maxwell, Wade (wk), Starc, Cummins, Zampa, Hazelwood.
SPORT360 MATCH PREDICTION: A contest such as this, between two strong teams, is a very tough one to predict. England will fancy their chances, considering the form they are in while Australia usually tend to bring their A-game to the table when it really matters.