ICC Champions Trophy team preview: England

Kevin Pietersen – The missing link

Coaches of other teams in the Champions Trophy will be breathing a sigh of relief, as KP is injured and won’t play in the tournament. With a wide array of strokes and preternatural hand-eye co-ordination, he can turn a match on its head in matter of minutes. Even when he went through a bad patch in One Day cricket between 08/09 to 11/12, bowlers around the world still looked at him as a major threat in England’s batting line-up.

In KP’s absence, England will look to Morgan to up the ante and get big scores. The unorthodox Morgan may not have the power of KP, but he more than makes it up with innovative jaw-dropping shots. On his day, Morgan is a bowler’s nightmare, as he can play shots in a 360 degree arc. England could have perhaps included the diminutive and fearless James Taylor instead of the enigmatic Bopara. Nottinghamshire’s middle-order batsman, Taylor, has played some scintillating knocks in domestic cricket.

Key Player – Alastair Cook

England’s captain marvel, Cook, is the bedrock of their top-order. There was a time when his detractors said that he can’t play One Day cricket. But with sheer dogged determination and perseverance, he has silenced his critics. Those five one-day hundreds he has already notched up at a healthy strike rate is a fitting riposte to all those critics who were baying for his blood. He, along with Trott and Bell, form a formidable top-order, especially in English conditions.

The player to watch out for – Jos Buttler

The wicket-keeper batsman, Buttler, has been picked specifically to inject the much needed acceleration in the end overs. He doesn’t belong to the club of big, muscular cricketers and yet he seems to have that uncanny ability to hit sixes nonchalantly, and with ease. It doesn’t mean that Buttler can’t play powerful shots. But when he smashes those sixes at will, it doesn’t seem like he uses a great amount of power to send it deep into the orbit. He can also take the mickey out of bowlers with that scoop-shot. As a keen cricket enthusiast, all I can say is that you should underestimate Buttler’s batting prowess at your own peril.

If Finn and Broad are passed fit, England have the squad that can lift the coveted Champions Trophy at home. But unfortunately, cricket isn’t played on a piece of paper. It also has to be said that as the top eight ranked sides are participating in the Champions Trophy, England can’t take anyone lightly. Simply put, if England don’t want the dark clouds of doom and gloom not to descend on them again in One Day cricket, they have to play a positive brand of cricket.