Champions Trophy 2025: Australia’s second tier up against it in absence of bowling big three | Geoff Lemon
Their attack has a distinctly Sheffield Shield flavour to it but the main thing in the two-times winners’ favour is the relative weakness of their group
For a long time, a strange situation continued in Australian cricket. Through a one-day World Cup in 2023, through a T20 World Cup in 2024, through a Test summer that sat between them, and through the lead-ups and warm-ups before all of the above, the same three fast bowlers showed up almost all of the time. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Patrick Cummins, in aeternum.
Things don’t work that way. Fast bowling is a horrifically taxing art, and the mad operators who pursue it across any level of the game share a gruesome delight in cataloguing their lifetime’s injuries, discarding sneakers and peeling back socks and rolling up trouser legs to show you toes bent sideways or lurid half-moons of scars around ankles or knees. At the top level, fitness and availability are sporadic, and that’s before you come to the changes driven by each format requiring different skills. Australia’s big three have been men for all seasons, all styles, all conditions, in a remarkable show of consistency and adaptability.
Continue reading...
Read more at The Guardian
-
Unfamiliar faces: who has a chance to shine for Australia at Champions Trophy? | Martin Pegan
Six players with minimal international experience are at the tournament in Pakistan and can expect to play a role . Fewer than three months have passed since Australia’s Test team was seen to be in ...The Guardian - 7h -
Smith 'not worried' by absence of pace trio against England
Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith says he is "not worried" about the absence of his three key fast bowlers for their Champions Trophy opener against England.BBC News - 4h -
How to watch the ICC Champions Trophy: Schedule, where to stream for less and more
Here's how to watch every match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.Yahoo Sports - 3h -
2025 Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Tiers 2.0: Tiered rankings for a position with much to sort out still
Offseason maneuvering has brought new questions to the closer ranksCBS Sports - 6h -
2025 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Tiers 2.0: Tiered rankings for a position deep in capable contributors
It's almost the reverse situation from a year agoCBS Sports - 4h -
The Hunt Report: 2025 HBCU Combine, Legacy Bowl practice standouts and takeaways
You may not know these prospects, but NFL scouts sure doCBS Sports - 1h -
Cynthia Erivo is Jesus: Here's the Hollywood Bowl 2025 lineup, led by 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
The Los Angeles Philharmonic unveils the Hollywood Bowl's 2025 season lineup, including Cynthia Erivo in "Jesus Christ Superstar" as well as Gustavo Dudamel's penultimate season.Los Angeles Times - 3d -
Argentina court drops charges against three people over Liam Payne death
Charges of criminal negligence dropped against three key defendants over death of British singer in October. A court in Argentina has dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the ...The Guardian - 1d -
With tariffs ramping up, this investment option can provide protection against inflation
The threat of tariffs on imports is causing some investors to consider increasing their exposure to TIPS to help buffer their portfolios against inflation.CNBC - 3h
More from The Guardian
-
Trump says he ‘had very good talks with Putin’ and again criticizes Ukraine – live
US president also accuses Kyiv of talking ‘tough’ but having few bargaining chips in latest remarks in feud with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy. French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over ...The Guardian - 19m -
Man stabbed at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial days before crucial election
German police have arrested suspect but say they do not know what the motive was for the attack. A man has been stabbed and seriously injured at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial, two days before a ...The Guardian - 1h -
Israel-Hamas swap to go ahead despite claim child hostages were killed with ‘bare hands’
Ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and false return of their mother’s body. Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for another tense hostage, prisoner and ...The Guardian - 4h -
Man found guilty of attempted murder in Salman Rushdie stabbing trial
Jury convicts Hadi Matar, 27, charged with trying to kill author at literary gathering in New York state in 2022. A jury on Friday afternoon convicted the man who was charged with stabbing and ...The Guardian - 1h -
Trump removes Ice chief amid apparent frustration over rate of deportations
Caleb Vitello reassigned as administration reportedly unhappy that arrests and deportations have been slower than expected. Donald Trump’s presidential administration has reassigned its top ...The Guardian - 13m
More in World
-
Leicester v Brentford: Premier League – live
Updates from King Power Stadium, 8pm GMT kick-off Get in touch with Dominic ">here | Read Football Daily Some of those Argo quotes might be applicable to Ruud and Leicester, come to think ...The Guardian - 11m -
Portugal 1-1 England: Women’s Nations League – live reaction
Sarina Wiegman’s team began their campaign with a draw snatched by a goal from a star of the future in Nazareth. Austria 1-0 Scotland Italy 1-0 Wales Spain 3-2 Belgium Spain scored twice in ...The Guardian - 13m -
Trump removes Ice chief amid apparent frustration over rate of deportations
Caleb Vitello reassigned as administration reportedly unhappy that arrests and deportations have been slower than expected. Donald Trump’s presidential administration has reassigned its top ...The Guardian - 13m -
Berlin Stabbing Attack at Holocaust Memorial Injures One
The police said they had detained a suspect in the assault, which occurred among the labyrinth of concrete slabs at one of the German capital’s most sacrosanct sites.The New York Times - 17m -
Trump says he ‘had very good talks with Putin’ and again criticizes Ukraine – live
US president also accuses Kyiv of talking ‘tough’ but having few bargaining chips in latest remarks in feud with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy. French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over ...The Guardian - 19m