England’s Probable XI for Champions Trophy 2017

With the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy just a few weeks away, Essentially Sports will give a detailed analysis of probable XI for all eight teams participating in the tournament. Here is the list of a possible England’s XI who might get their name on the first team sheet.

Opening – Alex Hales, Jason Roy

There are not very many options for England for opening slots. These two batsmen have proved their worth during the 2016-17 season so there is no way that England would change the pair. Alex Hales has an average of 56 while he scored four 100s and five 50s in last twelve months. Jason Roy is not far behind with an average of 42 while he managed to score two 100s and six 50s.
Middle-order – Root, Morgan, Buttler

Joe Root is the key player for England as the whole batting order depends on him. If the openers fail then it is essential that he performs well. Joe Root is the best player in England right now so his exclusion would be absolutely criminal.
Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler have played some good innings in the past year. They have an average of 37 and 40 respectively. There are little to no options for England even if they want to change the order. Morgan will bat at number 4 while Buttler will bat at number 5 position.
All-rounders – Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes

If we analyze the stats, Ben Stokes is one of the best all-rounders around the world. While he can take wickets he can also score a 100, so whatever happens, he will be on the team. Apart from that, Stokes is bowling well in death-overs so he will be the key to restricting the opponents in the last 10 overs. He has an average of 46 during the 2016-17 season. Many top batsmen fail to maintain an average like this but he makes it look easy.

Moeen Ali performs well but consistency is the problem for him. Ali had a bad year with an average of 18. If we talk about his bowling he has an economy of 5.33. England would need a spinner for middle overs to restrict the opponents and they have only Moeen Ali as an option for that.

Chris Woakes would be one of the main bowlers as he knows the conditions of the pitch well enough to open the attack. During past year, he has taken 30 wickets including three 4-wicket hauls but more than that he has performed very well with the bat. He has an average of 42 in 2016-17.

Bowlers – Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett

Moeen Ali will be a part time bowler but they will need a main spinner and Adil Rashid would be the ideal choice for that. In the past year he has played 23 matches and during these matches, he took 39 wickets including one 5-wicket haul.
England has struggled with their pace attack in past few months and to overcome the issue they have tried many bowlers. Looking at the team sheet of previous matches they might go with Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett but with their history of changing the bowlers in every match, we cannot know for sure the exact combination.