5 reasons why England can win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy

As the 8th edition of the Champions Trophy gets underway in England with tomorrow’s opening game between England and Bangladesh at the Kennington Oval, the hosts start as firm favourites to win the tournament. Placed in Group A with Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh, England were runners-up to India in the previous edition in 2013, also hosted by them.

A lot has passed since, including a disappointing group stage exit in the 2015 World Cup, and the limited overs side has seen an overhaul since. But the new-look England is the most in-form team going into the big event.

Here’s a look at 5 factors that make England prime contenders for the Trophy:

#5 A transformed side since 2015

Ever since their early exit from the 2015 World Cup, there has been a conscious effort from England to shift from a traditional approach to an attacking brand of cricket demanded by the modern game – evident in their selection of players and on-field attitude. For years, England had lagged behind other teams in these aspects.

A cricketing nation that put a major focus on Test cricket, there was a lack of intent from England in the limited overs game. Often, players more suitable for the longest format would make up even the limited overs side. Hence, with the notable exception of Kevin Pietersen, there was a dearth of natural stroke-makers in the team.

However, their embarrassing exit from the World Cup brought about a complete turnaround as the team and its attitude to shorter forms of cricket underwent an overhaul. A new set of players were picked, who are more suited to the shorter versions and possess the array of skills required to dominate.

As a result, the England limited overs side, under the leadership of Eoin Morgan, has switched their attitude in the format and transformed itself into a fearless group of match-winners, leapfrogging other teams in the matter of a couple of years to become one of the most dangerous sides in world cricket.

#4 A dangerous batting line-up

Joe Root and Alex Hales are formidable batsmen

Once a struggler in limited overs cricket, the new-found fearless attitude towards batting has seen England rack up huge scores very frequently. In fact, England have scored in excess of 300 in 20 of their 43 ODIs since the 2015 World Cup. This should be attributed to the fearless stroke-making of what is one of the most explosive top orders currently in world cricket.

Opener Jason Roy boasts of a strike rate just above 100 and is partnered by Alex Hales, who himself strikes at 95. Combine this with their consistency. In terms of run aggregate of opening partnerships since the 2015 World Cup, the England pair is only second to South Africa’s Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla.

At No.3, they have Joe Root, classier in approach but one of the most prolific run-scorers in the world across all formats. Slotting at No.4 is the captain Eoin Morgan, a limited overs specialist with a repertoire of innovating strokes. Two of the hardest strikers of the ball walk in at 5 and 6. All-rounder Ben Stokes, who is fresh off a successful debut season in the IPL, scored a swashbuckling ton just a few days ago against the South Africans and is followed by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, whose strike rate touches 118.

Signs are ominous when you realise that the batting goes even deeper. Moeen Ali, who has a strike rate exceeding 100, bats at No.7, and bowlers like Rashid, Plunkett, Willey and Woakes are equally capable of wielding the willow effectively.

#3 An in-form team

England recently overcame South Africa in the ODI series

Ever since the 2015 World Cup, England have played 43 ODIs – winning 27, losing 14. Even their only series defeats in this period saw them just edged out by close margins – against Australia, South Africa and India. While a 2-3 result against Australia was their only home series defeat, England also lost 2-3 in South Africa and more recently, went down by a 1-2 margin in India.

They also made it to the finals of the T20 World Cup last year in India and had the title in their grasp before Carlos Brathwaite played an unbelievable cameo.

With such rich display of recent form, the runners-up of the previous edition of the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup will be expected to cross the stumbling, final hurdle this time around.

#2 Home advantage

Eoin Morgan’s side will have home advantage

As clichéd as it would sound, England have a definite edge over the other teams as hosts of the tournament. While there is no particular history of host teams winning the Champions Trophy, England did make it to the finals when they hosted the previous edition in 2013.

Playing at home would definitely add to the expectations on the favourites but their knowledge and experience of their own conditions would only outweigh any such added pressure from it.

With the exception of the defeat to Australia, England have also been unconquered at home in the last couple of years. Playing at home would definitely enhance England’s chances of lifting their first ever 50-over world title.

#1 Point to prove

The English cricket team in a training session

Eoin Morgan’s men will not have to look around much for reasons to motivate themselves ahead of the big event, for there are plenty from their performances in recent ICC tournaments. England got their best shot at winning a major ICC tournament in the 2013 Champions Trophy. In a rain-curtailed game, England were chasing 130 in 20 overs but bottled it to end up losing by a mere 5 runs.

The following major ICC event was the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, where England failed to progress into the knockouts and even slumped to defeat against the Netherlands. The team reached new lows when they bowed out of the 2015 ODI World Cup in the group stage of the tournament as Bangladesh handed them an embarrassing defeat and progressed ahead of them into the quarterfinals.

Post the 2015 World Cup, the 2016 World T20 in India was the first major assignment of a rebuilt England limited overs side. Having progressed to the finals, they once again fell second-best in the dying moments of the game as Carlos Brathwaite struck four consecutive sixes to overcome a tough ask of 19 runs in the final over of the innings.

With the next 50-over World Cup to be held in England in 2019 and preparations already in motion towards it, England will look forward to break the jinx and make a resounding statement to the world in the first major ICC ODI tournament since their 2015 debacle.