Follow UsAustralia captain Steven Smith has won the toss and has chosen to bowl first in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against England in Lahore. With Australia lacking the experienced pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, they have opted to go with twp left-arm seamers Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, and Nathan Ellis.
England announced their XI two days prior to the match. The big talking point is, of course, Jamie Smith batting at three for the first time.
Jos Buttler's men have not been in particularly good form heading into the tournament, having won just four of their 15 matches following the ODI World Cup. Australia, on the other hand, have been slightly been better having won seven out of 14, but come into the eight-team event at the back of a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka.
Which team will walk away with the crucial two points in this Group B encounter?
Steven Smith, Australia: We're gonna have a bowl.. Looks a pretty good surface. There's a bit of dew when we were practising, so we'll like to chase later on. Short, Head, myself, Marnus, Inglis, Carey, Maxwell, Dwarshuis, Ellis, Spencer Johnson and Zampa. (On playing two left-handed pacers) Little bit of swing up top, we'll try to utilise that as much as possible. (Carey) He's been batting really nicely. The two keepers played together in the Test matches, worked out well and both are quality batters. Always exciting, looking forward to getting started today.
Jos Buttler, England: We probably would have batted, we were a bit 50-50 whether the dew comes in or not. Looks a really good surface, look to try and make good first use of it. We are not trying to hide anything. We are very confident. We are really excited for the game, and the guys are in a really good place. Anytime you play Australia in an ICC event, you want to be part of. (On Jamie Smith) Very unflappable, immense talent with a great head on his shoulders. Gives us a chance to have a dynamic top three and some good guys behind him.
"Very pleasant from a player's point of view - just 21 degrees, might get cooler as the night goes on and a gentle breeze. Dimensions - 63m and 73m square boundaries, 74m downtown. Outfield looks absolutely magnificent, it'll be quick as lightning. This surface - it is an absolute road. It just looks fantastic. Has a nice covering of grass on it. It's really hard. The batters should prosper. If they don't, blame them."
Australia: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
England: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood