Do-or-die format could spell trouble for ‘hosts’ England, says Starc

England all-rounder Moeen Ali had said that his side fully deserve the ‘favourites’ tag going into next month’s Champions Trophy at home, while one-day captain Eoin Morgan has called the current squad as the “most talented group” he has played with.

While England are sensing a golden opportunity to win their maiden global 50-overs title, Starc believes the proposition of a tournament like the Champions Trophy is completely different from the number of bilateral series that routinely occupy the international calendar.

 “I think the fact they’ve been playing cricket in England before all the other countries is a plus for them, but at the same time it’s tournament play and the Champions Trophy is a tournament where you can’t have any hiccups along the way,” Starc told Cricket Australia. 

“Where in the World Cup you can probably get away with one or two bad performances and still get through to the next round, (with) the Champions Trophy you need to win all three of your round games to get through to the next stage,” added Starc, who was Player of the Tournament at the 2015 World Cup. Starc, however, admitted that the Morgan-led side are definitely never a team to take lightly. “(England) are definitely never a team to take lightly - I think at times you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get with the Poms,” he added. 

England are slated to play a bilateral series against South Africa before Champions Trophy campaign against an improving Bangladesh side on June 1, which will be followed by encounters with New Zealand (June 6) and Australia (June 10), ranked number four and two in the world respectively.