Smith denies fatigue being a factor

Captain Steve Smith doesn't believe a long season contributed to his side's early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy, adding player fatigue would be "no excuse" even if it was a factor.

The majority of Australia's 15-man squad will take a break from the game following their loss to England on Saturday, ending a long campaign that has effectively seen most members of the squad playing and training constantly since last October.

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Former captain Ricky Ponting said on Saturday that be believed the Australians looked "jaded" and "worn down" during the tournament, pointing to the grueling season that has included a lengthy stint in the subcontinent earlier this year for a Test series and the Indian Premier League.

Smith said he felt his team were adequately motivated for the tournament, despite a rain-affected campaign that has seen three of their five matches washed out.

"I didn't get that feeling (and) that's no excuse anyway," he said when asked if he felt his team had been flat during the tour.

"When you're playing in a big tournament for your country, you need to step up and get the job done. We weren't able to do that on this occasion, unfortunately.

"We had some frustrating games throughout and just haven't been able to find any momentum, I guess. It was disappointing.

"You say that we only had one hit (heading into the England game), but that should be good enough for the players that we've got on our team.

"We've got some good players in our line-up. We just weren't able to get those partnerships together today and get ourselves a score up over 300."

Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell have effectively been on the road since the start of the Qantas Test Tour of India in early February (Pat Cummins and Marcus Stoinis joined them midway through that series) while five other members of the 15-man squad played in the Indian Premier League almost immediately following the end of the Australian summer.

While Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Matthew Wade all had a break following the India Tests, that series came on the back of a long period of continuous cricket between October and January that included six Tests and 12 one-day internationals.

Speaking in commentary at Edgbaston, Ponting said he believed the long campaign had hampered Australia's performances.

"The Australians all the way through this tournament they seemed a little flat, a little jaded," he said.

"A lot of these players have been on the road since January for the Test series in India followed immediately by the IPL. A lot of the guys went straight from the IPL to the Champions Trophy. They’ve been on the road for four-five months, a lot of these Australian players.

"It probably has a lot to do with how they’ve played their cricket. They’ve been unusually sloppy. Look at their batting today - they got off to a really good start with guys getting 20-30s, Finch getting (68) and not going on with it. That mental edge has gone after being on the road for so long. They’ve been rundown, worn out by the game."

While the ongoing pay dispute between the players and Cricket Australia rumbles on, the senior Australians aren't scheduled to play again until a proposed tour of Bangladesh in August and September, which is still yet to be confirmed.

Speaking in London last week, Warner insisted his focus was entirely on this tournament, despite effectively eight months on the road.

"When you're at training and at games your sole focus is cricket," he said. "And that's what we have been able to do for a lot of years now.

"When we get to go home and have that luxury of sleeping in our own bed it is amazing, and we will enjoy it.

"But our first priority is playing cricket; that's what our job is to do and we thoroughly enjoy it. But we definitely make the most of it afterwards."

While most of Australia's squad will now return home, several members will stay in the UK to play county cricket.

James Pattinson will return to Nottinghamshire, John Hastings will head back to Worcestershire while Aaron Finch and Moises Henriques will fly home for a short break before returning to London to play for Surrey in the upcoming T20 Blast.

Champions Trophy 2017 Guide

Squads: Every Champions Trophy nation

Schedule

1 June – England beat Bangladesh by eight wickets

2 June – New Zealand v Australia, No Result

3 June – Sri Lanka lost to South Africa by 96 runs

4 June – India beat Pakistan by 124 runs

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, No Result

6 June – England beat New Zealand by 87 runs

7 June – Pakistan beat South Africa by 19 runs (DLS method)

8 June – Sri Lanka beat India by seven wickets

9 June – Bangladesh beat New Zealand by five wickets

10 June – England beat Australia by 40 runs (DLS method)

11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)

12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)

14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)

15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)

18 June – Final, The Oval (D)

19 June – Reserve day (D)