Five reasons why England can win the ICC Champions Trophy 2013

The English have continuously failed to leave a mark on the big stage. The Ashes continues to dominate the cricketing banter in England and the World Cup, leave aside the Champions Trophy, seems to have become a secondary target. They have almost the same personnel who will be playing a key role at the Ashes and, as a result, they have a traditional batting top-order with four batsmen who take their time to set a platform for the big innings. As a result, they might not be the most exciting team to watch on the day, but they definitely are a lot less prone to the meltdowns that have become a staple in ODI cricket ever since the introduction of the T20 format. We have already seen a few low-scoring games in the competition and given the conditions in England, a modest total is most likely to be a winning total for England.

Here is a list of 5 reasons why I think England can win Champions Trophy 2013.

1. The top order

Alastair Cook is one of the best modern-day batsmen in the world

More often than not, the English bowling has taken the limelight off their batsmen. Even when England boast of a terrific new ball attack with potent spin options, I believe that the English batting line-up is a bigger boon. The reason for this is that they are consistent and have the ability to switch gears as and when required.

Alastair Cook‘s ability as a batsman has never been under doubt; and those who tentatively speculate about his success in the shorter format of the game must be silenced with the understanding that with the new ball at two ends, he can provide the stability that is much required. Ian Bell, on the other hand, is finally performing up to his potential and he will be the aggressor in the partnership with Cook. Bell has entered the competition with a match-winning inning of 82 against NZ in the last ODI and catapulted his status with another innings of 91 that sunk Australia in the group opener. Jonathan Trott deserves the number 3 position in this batting order. He has the ability to construct an innings and stabilize things in case a few early wickets fall. He has also shown glimpses of good form with a utility knock of 43 against Australia. Youngster Joe Root has had a promising start to his career; and though he needs to establish himself in the shorter form of the game, he has all the merits to do so. He looks to be a complete player with all the shots in the book, and maybe this will be his platform.