England's bold claim for Champs Trophy

Allrounder Moeen Ali claims England are deserved favourites heading into the ICC Champions Trophy and has credited captain Eoin Morgan for the team's dramatic transformation since the 2015 World Cup.

England, who host the global tournament beginning on June 1 in London, are being touted as the team to beat as they bid to claim their first major ODI trophy – just two-and-a-half years on from crashing out of the group stages of the World Cup shortly after defeat to Bangladesh in Adelaide.

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And Moeen believes a shift in attitude from the top down has been the key to their reemergence as a legitimate force in the 50-over game.

"The mindset of the players has changed," he said. "(Morgan) wants us to play without fear and to hit the lights out.

"Morgan is a very calm person … he hardly panics and is very good at controlling his emotions.

"He is very relaxed which is good from a player's point of view."

To underline their rejuvenation, England smashed a world record total of 3-444 last August, while eight of their all-time 10 highest ODI scores have come since June 2015.

Their powerful batting group has been lauded by the likes of former England captain Nasser Hussain as the finest the country has ever put together in ODI cricket.

Their regular top six – Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes – are all sough-after commodities on the T20 domestic circuit and have each averaged in excess of 38 at a strike-rate exceeding 92 since the World Cup disaster Down Under.

The top six is also capably backed up by the likes of Moeen and David Willey, with a trio of allrounders (Stokes included) providing captain Morgan with crucial extra options with the ball.

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England lost the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy on home soil to India, while they looked assured to win the only global event since their 2015 reinvention – the 2016 ICC World T20 – until West Indies snatched victory in the last over of a dramatic final.

Moeen says that recent experience of playing in finals will also hold the players in good stead.  

"The team we have at the moment, we deserve that (favourites) tag," he said. "Playing at home is going to make a massive difference and hopefully we can win the trophy.

"We have lost a couple of finals recently but over the last couple of years we have played very well in preparation for this Trophy.

"Hopefully if we get to the final we can overcome the final step and win it.

"We have gained experience from the T20 World Cup so it will definitely help us."

Last week, England back-up wicketkeeper Sam Billings claimed teams are "petrified" of Morgan's men, while former off-spinner Graeme Swann also praised the team's turnaround under Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss.

"England have got such a strong-looking squad, especially with the bat," Swann told Test Match Special.

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"It's not long ago they were being thrashed by everyone and insisting they were playing the right way with their 1970s brand of one-day cricket.

"Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss ripped up that piece of paper from 2015 and said 'that's nonsense, we'll get the right personnel in, fill them with confidence, back them to the hilt and ask them to try and post 400 when they bat'."

England face Bangladesh in their tournament opener at The Oval, before taking on New Zealand at Cardiff and Australia in Birmingham to round out their group fixtures. 

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)