'Tournament play' a test for England: Starc

Australia spearhead Mitchell Starc believes the do-or-die format of the ICC Champions Trophy could spell trouble for an England team claiming they "deserve" the favourites tag ahead of next month's ODI tournament.

England have never won a major 50-over event but have been reinvented as an ODI outfit since their forgettable 2015 World Cup under captain Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss, winning 25 of 39 completed matches and posting eight of their 10 highest-ever totals.

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But Starc, who is set to return from a foot injury in the build-up to Australia's opener against New Zealand on June 3, said the proposition of a tournament such as the Champions Trophy is entirely different to the glut of bilateral series that routinely occupy the international calendar.

"I think the fact they've been playing cricket in England before all the other countries is a plus for them, but at the same time it's tournament play and the Champions Trophy is a tournament where you can't have any hiccups along the way," said Starc, who was Player of the Tournament at the 2015 World Cup.

"Where in the World Cup you can probably get away with one or two bad performances and still get through to the next round, (with) the Champions Trophy you need to win all three of your round games to get through to the next stage.

"(England) are definitely never a team to take lightly – I think at times you're not quite sure what you're going to get with the Poms."

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England play a bilateral series against South Africa before their tournament campaign begins against an improving Bangladesh side on June 1 followed by showdowns with New Zealand (June 6) and Australia (June 10), ranked number four and two in the world respectively.

The hosts' success over the past two years has been based largely around an overtly aggressive policy with the bat, and has led to allrounder Moeen Ali declaring England "deserved" the favourites tag, and back-up wicketkeeper Sam Billings claiming other teams are "petrified" of facing them.

Interestingly, England have played one series against each of the top three ODI teams – South Africa, Australia and India – since the 2015 World Cup, and lost all three.

Starc said that familiarity with home conditions would indeed serve Morgan's side well, before comparing their chequered tournament history with the strong form of the current crop.

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"Look, they're the home country – they're going to know the conditions better than the rest of the teams," he said.

"They obviously haven't done too well in tournaments in the past, but in saying that they've got a pretty strong set-up at the minute.

"They've been playing some pretty good cricket against Ireland back home, and the guys in the IPL for the English are playing some good cricket as well."

Champions Trophy 2017 Guide

Squads: Every Champions Trophy squad named so far

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.

Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

Schedule

Warm-up matches

26 May – Australia v Sri Lanka, The Oval

27 May – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Edgbaston

28 May – India v New Zealand, The Oval

29 May – Australia v Pakistan, Edgbaston

30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston

30 May – Bangladesh vs India, The Oval

Tournament

1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)

2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)

3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)

4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)

6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)

7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)

8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)

9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)

10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)

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)