Lynn a chance but more rain looms

Coach Darren Lehmann says batting powerhouse Chris Lynn is "a real chance" to earn a recall for Australia's crucial ICC Champions Trophy clash against England on Saturday, but Britain's nightmare weather could once again have the final say.

More rain is forecast in Birmingham for the match at Edgbaston, which Australia likely need to win to avoid an early exit for the second consecutive time in the tournament.

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Australia made just one change for their match against Bangladesh on Monday and would be reluctant to shake things up too much given players both in and out of the XI have barely had a chance to prove themselves following three consecutive washed-out games.

But Lehmann said Lynn is a chance to be unleashed against the tournament favourites for what would be just his second one-day international.

"He'll come into contention again for the last game against England," the coach said.

"At the moment, with the make-up of our side, Zampa came in for Hastings (after the first game) because we thought it would spin. He bowled very well.

"But he's a real chance to play, Lynn."

Australia's batsmen have had little match action on this tour due to the frustrating downpours, which have come almost exclusively on match days. Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade haven't faced a ball in the middle since a warm-up match against Sri Lanka almost two weeks ago, while Steve Smith has faced just 48 deliveries in three innings despite not being dismissed once.

One of opener Aaron Finch and allrounder Moises Henriques would be the most obvious option to drop out of the side if Lynn was picked.

Finch has been dismissed cheaply in both of Australia's Group A matches so far, but he did open the tour with a superb 137 against Sri Lanka and an unbeaten 36 against Pakistan in the warm-up games.

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The likely inclusion of Zampa means the Aussies would go into the match with just three frontline quicks, so the medium-pace of Henriques could be a key option for Smith. The 30-year-old bowled well against Bangladesh at The Oval, taking 1-14 from his first four overs before Tamim Iqbal went on the attack, hitting him for 16 from his fifth and final over.

But as has been the case all tournament, it is matters meteorological rather than tactical that will dominate the lead-in to the game, which is scheduled to start at 10.30am local time (7.30pm AEST).

At Wednesday afternoon UK time, the Met Office was forecasting light rain from around 4am in Birmingham on Saturday and heavy downpours from 7am through to 1pm. The heavy rain is scheduled to relent after lunch, but more showers are possible throughout the afternoon.

Having had their campaign ruined by rain so far, the Aussies will be hoping the weather gods do them a favour by washing out New Zealand's match against Bangladesh in Cardiff on Friday as well.

The winner of the game at Sophia Gardens would finish the group stage on three points and a third wash-out for Australia at Edgbaston would also move them to three points. But in that scenario the winner of the Cardiff match would advance to the semi-finals by virtue of having won more games, even if their Net Run Rate is lower than Australia's.

A wash out in Cardiff would bring both teams level on two points alongside Australia heading into the England match, but the Aussies would have a superior run rate. That would mean Smith's side could lose at Edgbaston and still progress to the semi-finals, provided the defeat was not by a significant margin.

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The good news for both the Black Caps and Bangladesh is the current forecast for Cardiff is fine, with just a small chance of rain in patches.

Lehmann said the mood in the camp was good, despite the lack of action out in the middle.

"You can't do much about it, you can't control the weather," he said.

"So for us it's simple - win the next game, (effectively a) quarter-final, semi-final, final. That's where it gets to. That's all we can do.

"You'd always like more (time in the middle). I suppose we're lucky enough that a lot of our guys played in the IPL so they've had enough cricket in a weird way. So it's not that bad.

"Our set-up for the next game, we've got to manufacture training around weather. But we're playing England so it's going to be a pretty good game."

 In keeping with Australia’s frustrating dance with the weather on this tour, where washed out games have been sandwiched between fine weather, they trained under sunny skies in Birmingham on Wednesday.

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 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)