Australia's Zampa hopes match-winners emerge to cover big-name losses
MELBOURNE : Adam Zampa wants new heroes to emerge from the Australian squad at the Champions Trophy to cover the "big loss" of the team's champion pace trio.
Pat Cummins Sport News
Depleted Australia Face Uphill Battle At Champions Trophy
An Australia team struggling for confidence and missing the wealth of experience that has long been the backbone of their success face a daunting task to win a first Champions Trophy title since 2009. The World Cup holders are without their "Big Three" pacemen -- Pat Cummins (ankle), Josh Hazlewood (hip) and Mitchell Starc, who has opted out for personal reasons. It is a giant hole to fill with the trio sharing 525 ODI wickets across a combined 308 games. Add in the absence of all-rounders Mitchell Marsh (back) and Marcus Stoinis (retired), and half of their regular team is missing.
Eoin Morgan, Shane Watson Pick India As Favourite For Champions Trophy 2025
Their respective teams may not have ideal buildup to the Champions Trophy 2025 but Eoin Morgan and Shane Watson are hopeful that England and Australia would do well in the event while picking India as the top favourite. England, under a new coach in Brandon McCullum, were hammered by India in both the T20I and ODI series while Australia have been besieged by injuries losing four top players -- Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Starc -- to injuries while Marcus Stoinis has announced a sudden retirement from the national team.
"Out And Out...": India Given Heavy 'Favourites' Tag For Champions Trophy By Ex-World Cup Winners
India will be the “favourites” to win the Champions Trophy despite the absence of ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, believe former players Eoin Morgan and Shane Watson. A vital cog in India's title winning campaign in last year's T20 World Cup, Bumrah will miss the eight-team Champions Trophy which got underway on Thursday, but both Morgan and Watson believe Rohit Sharma's team has the necessary firepower to win the title. “To do the runners and riders, the side that's the front-runner, best positioned across the squads, I would say India… out and out favourites,” Morgan said during the International Masters League's Captain's Day event here on Wednesday.
"Best Leaders That I Know Have Always Empowered Colleagues": Pat Cummins
Leadership is all about having faith in the strengths of colleagues, believes Australia's talismanic captain Pat Cummins, who is busy promoting his new book after being forced out of the Champions Trophy due to an ankle injury. At the age of 28, Cummins became Australia's 47th Test captain and since then he has led his country to the 50-over World Cup and the World Test Championship triumph apart from retaining the Ashes and regaining the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy just last month.
Australia SWOT Analysis, Champions Trophy: Battered By injuries, World Champions Can't Be Ignored
Two-time winners Australia will be on a quest to regain the Champions Trophy title after a gap of 15 years. They had won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2009 but have failed to reach the finals in the 2013 and 2017 editions, after which the event was discontinued. For the 2025 edition, the reigning 50-over World Cup winners are placed in the four-team Group B which also includes England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Australia will open their campaign with a clash with arch-rivals England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 22.
New Zealand's Ferguson out of Champions Trophy with foot injury
KARACHI, Pakistan : New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the Champions Trophy with a foot injury on Tuesday in a major blow for the Black Caps on the eve of the tournament opener against hosts Pakistan.
Australia's Kuhnemann to sit out Shield match ahead of bowling action tests
MELBOURNE : Australia spin bowler Matthew Kuhnemann will sit out Tasmania's Sheffield Shield match against South Australia ahead of testing on his bowling action.