The Champions Trophy has broken many myths about the untouchable position of England cricket team.
Their dominance and the strength, especially in their batting line-up, had somehow created a fear for them among others.
The way Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root played against India was not up to scratch.
A few of my friends can opine that the weather and pitch played an important role in making it difficult for English batsmen in the final.
Also, they may say that the Indians were luckily able to restrict them within a reasonable limit, and this does not prove the frailties of England’s batting.
However, we must remember that England were in a very strong position.
They needed 20 runs from 15 balls, with six wickets standing. But, they choked under pressure.
From the very beginning, England were taking it for granted that they were unbeatable.
So much so, that I had read somewhere that their prime focus was Ashes, and Champions Trophy was just a warm up tournament, which they would easily win at home.
Another notable factor overlooked by many is that England got a comparatively easier group in the tournament. And yet, they lost a group match. This was certainly unexpected from a team boasting a good recent home record, as well as in form players.
Their bowling attack was also not invincible, as previously thought. Sri Lanka thrashed them to all parts in the group game, and India also hit them around in the latter stages of their innings in the final. Inconsistencies shown by Broad and Bresnan certainly do raise questions.
Indians, who are not accustomed to playing on English pitches, played fairly well here.
In comparison, Australians are in a much better position as far as exposure to bouncy pitches is concerned. The Aussies can certainly do it!
If the Aussies can strengthen themselves and perform well, I truly believe that they have a chance in the Ashes.
England has not quite lived up to the mark and inconsistencies shown by certain players can easily be exploited.
Less experienced players in the Australian squad need to step up. It’s as simple as that.
The Ed Cowans, Nathan Lyons and the Phil Hughes are the key ones who need to perform.
They have to show their mettle and raise their game in the Ashes. The new coach Darren Lehmann also seems to be determined to gel the squad together.
We do not expect miracles, but Australia can certainly compete with England in the Ashes. This Champions Trophy has given a lesson to all, that anything is possible.
Disco
Roar Guru
Arguably the NZ bowlers are more accurate and consistent, as they proved across 5 tests against England. Cook-Root-Trott-Pietersen-Bell-Bairstow-Prior is not weak. Take your green-and-gold blinkers off once in a while.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
England's batting is weak. Make no doubts about it. They struggled against a Kiwi attack which is hardly that good. Southee? Boult? Wagner? They aren't in Harris, Pattinson or Bird's class.
Trev
Roar Rookie
New Zealand in their 2 recent series bowled England out cheaply a couple of times. Englands batting line up is stronger then Australias but there is a weakness there our bowlers can expose.
James
Guest
yes they lost a game in the group matches to a sri lanka who were absolutely brilliant. yes england chocked but you cannot say that they chocked but also that the top order batsmen didnt do their job, in order to choke they have to have been in a position to win it and they could only have been in a position to win it if the top order batsmen had played well enough to have won it. dissapointed that england lost but i dont see many positives for australia as by any comparison england were much much better than australia in the competition so even if england are not playing great, australia are playing much worse. dont really think this champions trophy has any bearing whatsoever and if it had im almost positive the 177 scored by pieterson and the very ordinary bowling of the much vaunted australian attack v somerset earlier will have destroyed any lingering hope
Showbags
Guest
Yeah that's just a silly assertion that a 50 over (or T20) performance has any bearing whatsoever on a Test Series. The closer it gets to the First Test the more convinced I am that England will win and win well. Australia's much vaunted bowling attack is only decent not spectacular (which I think they need to be for us to beat England) and from the looks of the pitches around England atm a memo has gone out for all their curators to take the grass off the pitches. The Poms will back themselves to beat us on flat pitches that turn on days 4 or 5. A pitch with a bit of grass on it will bring us back into the contest as it brings our quicks into the game and if Clarke can play a blinder of an innings here or there we may be a chance. We are 4-5 years away from competing in my opinion. I just hope we see some young players step up in this series and announce themselves on the international stage regardless of the result at the end of the day.
Disco
Roar Guru
I don't it will have any bearing whatsoever. But kid yourself that one 20/20 contest means so much.
RobRoy
Guest
What an unbalanced presentation of facts and using a 50 ODI (reduced to 20/20) as a basis for test match forecast. Yes England did blow the final that was reduced to a 20/20 with players not geared for that type of contest. But at least they got to the final! Article stated they were in an easy group...correct me but Australia was in that group too so not exactly a flattering thing to say and sabotages later arguments. The pitches were a mixed bag and generally atypical to what you would normally find in England. All this said and not because of the Champions Trophy results I expect a lot closer contest that some pundits are predicting.