England at home will be a formidable force to be reckoned with, but can they go all the way and win the trophy on their home soil?

By Saj Sadiq (22nd May, 2017)

Four years ago a disappointed England were beaten finalists to a rampant Indian team at Edgbaston. However in these past four years a lot has changed in England's approach to One-Day cricket and a lot has changed regarding their brand of cricket in the 50 over format. Make no mistake, this time around they will be keen to go one better on Sunday 18th June at The Oval in front of a home crowd.

Looking through the England squad the first thing that strikes you is match-winners in abundance, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes are all more than capable of turning a match in the space of a few overs. The squad has an air of athleticism about it and it's a squad that has bowlers who have the ability to take wickets. The combination of youth and experience is an intriguing one and should work well for Eoin Morgan and his men.

The top order has a feel of destruction about it, as Pakistan discovered at Trent Bridge last year when many records were broken against the hapless and shell-shocked Pakistani bowlers. The England batting line-up is long, very long and has players who can clear the boundary with ease and attack any bowling line-up with ferocity. It's a batting line-up that oozes talent and class and has an aggressive attitude and approach. Destructive batsmen at the top, classy players like Root and Morgan in the middle-order and a fired-up Stokes also at their disposal. Add to this lower-order batsmen who are more than capable of some late-order fireworks and you have a complete batting line-up for the 50 over format. 

The England bowling group also has an attacking feel to it. In the past England has been guilty of selecting defensive medium-pacers to contain the opposition, but this time around in Wood, Plunkett, Willey and Woakes they have pace to burn and all of these seamers are wicket-taking options. The pace attack on paper is as good as any in the Champions Trophy and could blow away even the best batting group at the tournament. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are there as the spin-bowling options as back-up to an exciting pace-bowling battery and both are more than useful options as spinners.

This group of players will be amongst the best when it comes to athleticism, fitness and fielding. Expect plenty of spectacular catches from England and they will make the opposition work for every run. Whilst some teams struggle with fitness, there is no compromising on levels of fitness for England and their professionalism will be second to none.

Overall the squad has an exciting and youthful feel about it with only 2 squad members over the age of 30 and with most of the squad between the age of 25 and 28, peak ages for cricketers as many would feel. The players are good enough, the squad is a strong one, the approach is exciting and the team is a settled one with a clear game plan. Morgan has the players at his disposal but his captaincy will be tested in the toughest encounters and he will need to pass this test for England to succeed.

Home advantage could be crucial with the crowds getting behind an exciting England team whose brand of cricket of late has been sensational. If all goes to plan then England could lift the Champions Trophy 2017 and appease their demanding fans. But with England, it quite often goes horribly wrong when you least expect it. Expect England to perform well at the Champions Trophy this time around and don't be surprised if they go all the way and win it.

Strengths

Fielding, fitness and explosive batting.

Weaknesses

May crumble under pressure.

Verdict

Will make the final and could win it.

England squad for Champions Trophy

Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Discuss!