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The English have continuously failed to leave a mark on the big stage. The Ashes continues to dominate the cricketing banter in England and the World Cup, leave aside the Champions Trophy, seems to have become a secondary target. They have almost the same personnel who will be playing a key role at the Ashes and, as a result, they have a traditional batting top-order with four batsmen who take their time to set a platform for the big innings. As a result, they might not be the most exciting team to watch on the day, but they definitely are a lot less prone to the meltdowns that have become a staple in ODI cricket ever since the introduction of the T20 format. We have already seen a few low-scoring games in the competition and given the conditions in England, a modest total is most likely to be a winning total for England.
Here is a list of 5 reasons why I think England can win Champions Trophy 2013.
1. The top order
More often than not, the English bowling has taken the limelight off their batsmen. Even when England boast of a terrific new ball attack with potent spin options, I believe that the English batting line-up is a bigger boon. The reason for this is that they are consistent and have the ability to switch gears as and when required.
Alastair Cook‘s ability as a batsman has never been under doubt; and those who tentatively speculate about his success in the shorter format of the game must be silenced with the understanding that with the new ball at two ends, he can provide the stability that is much required. Ian Bell, on the other hand, is finally performing up to his potential and he will be the aggressor in the partnership with Cook. Bell has entered the competition with a match-winning inning of 82 against NZ in the last ODI and catapulted his status with another innings of 91 that sunk Australia in the group opener. Jonathan Trott deserves the number 3 position in this batting order. He has the ability to construct an innings and stabilize things in case a few early wickets fall. He has also shown glimpses of good form with a utility knock of 43 against Australia. Youngster Joe Root has had a promising start to his career; and though he needs to establish himself in the shorter form of the game, he has all the merits to do so. He looks to be a complete player with all the shots in the book, and maybe this will be his platform.
2. The pace battery
James Anderson has the capability of destroying batting line-ups single-handedly
Adding to the solidity of the batting line-up, England have an extremely potent bowling line-up with Alastair Cook having many diverse options up his sleeve to make it a balanced side. James Anderson is arguably the finest swing bowler in the world, and Stuart Broad and Steven Finn have the tendency to extract sharp bounce from the pitches that are only slightly supportive. And suddenly, Tim Bresnan has hit a purple patch creating a healthy headache for the team’s think-tank. England have enough wicket-taking options in this line-up; and as long as their efforts are supplemented by the fielding unit, they will be difficult to score against.
3. The spin wizards
Graeme Swann’s guile has given England more options to choose from
England have mended a traditional weakness in their spin department and now boast of two world-class off-spinners in Graeme Swann and James Tredwell. The English pitches have been a bit drier this season and have offered spin and bounce to those who strive to exploit it. Swann missed the first match due to some sort of injury sustained just before the match, but it might not be a surprise if Tredwell is preferred over Swann if England choose to go with one spinner only.
4. Home conditions
English conditions and grounds are not easy to get used to
Who knows English conditions better than the English? It’s not only about the pitch in England; the weather plays a huge role as well. Biting cold and sudden spells of sunshine can change the fate of a game. In such a situation, the toss becomes important as well. England will be up against Sri Lanka in the group stage, and other subcontinental teams in all probability as they move into the semi-finals, and they can exploit the batting techniques of the subcontinental batsmen who are used to dry and slow pitches.
5. Fielding
The fielding will play as important a role as batting and bowling
England have a good fielding side with the likes of Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan. They will have an important role to play when their side defends a total as every run counts in the limited overs version of the game, especially because of the longer boundaries that force batsmen to depend a lot less on boundaries and a lot more on running the twos and the threes. They can make a score of 250 look like 275+ score with agility on the field.
