Vice-captain Travis Head has confessed Australia can’t afford any early wobbles in the Champions Trophy courtesy of the tournament’s “cut-throat” format and high-quality opposition.
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The Australians are renowned for their slow starts in ICC tournaments, most notably the 2023 World Cup where the eventual champions got their campaign underway with crushing losses against India and South Africa.
The nation was also guilty of early hiccups during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, the 2015 World Cup in Australia and the 1999 World Cup in England, each ending with Australia lifting the trophy. Australia only lost one game during the previous edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017, but the defeat was enough to knock them out in the group stage.
Ahead of Saturday’s tournament opener against England in Lahore, Head conceded that Australia didn’t have the luxury of suffering any early slip-ups, with Steve Smith’s men also facing South Africa and Afghanistan during the group stage.
The Proteas have won four of their five most recent ODIs against Australia, while a record-breaking performance from Glenn Maxwell was needed to deny Afghanistan its maiden victory over Australia in the 50-over format the last time they locked horns.
“We know that the first game is the most important one in this tournament,” Head said on Wednesday.
“That’s all our concentration is in at the moment, that first game, and we’ll worry about the rest when that comes.
“In this tournament it feels like you’ve got to start well, you’ve got to hit the ground running, so that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”
He continued: “We know that we need to use the next four days to prepare well to make sure we hit the ground running. You don’t have the luxury of a World Cup with a lot of games to work into a tournament and navigate through and pinpoint games that may be more important than others.
“Here it’s pretty cut-throat, it’s pretty much a knockout, and you’ve got to start well.”
With the undermanned Australians missing several key players — including captain Pat Cummins, speedster Mitchell Starc, seamer Josh Hazlewood, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, vice-captain Mitchell Starc and young gun Cameron Green — Head looms as a crucial figure within the squad.
The Allan Border Medallist was named Men’s ODI Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards earlier this month after compiling 252 runs at 63.00 in 2024, including an unbeaten 154 against England in Nottingham. He was also named player of the match during both of Australia’s knockout matches during the 2023 World Cup campaign.
However, Head was wary of the calibre of England’s world-class pace attack, which includes speedsters Jofra Archer and Mark Wood along with rising stars Gus Atkinson and Saqib Mahmood.
“I’m going to have my work cut out for me with some of that fast bowling England have got,” Head said.
“They’re high quality, highly skilled and high pace.
“I’ve got to make sure I start well, earn the right, and see where the game takes us.”
Australia will face England at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, with the first ball scheduled for 8pm AEDT.
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