Starc out to land early Ashes blow

A chance for some early Ashes point-scoring and valuable bragging rights has Mitchell Starc excited for Australia's must-win Champions Trophy match against England on Saturday.

The two old rivals will face off in a pre-Ashes clash at Edgbaston with Australia likely needing to win to avoid an early exit from the tournament for the second consecutive time.

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England can secure their spot in the semi-finals with a victory over New Zealand on Tuesday but they would no doubt take great pleasure in also ensuring the Australians don't progress to the final four.

Speaking to cricket.com.au a month ago, Starc targeted the match as a chance to "open up a few old wounds" in the England side ahead of the Ashes in Australia this summer.

And he fired another warning shot at the tournament favourites on Monday.

"England probably expect themselves to win and they've talked themselves up in the media," the left-armer said having returned to his best form with four wickets against Bangladesh at The Oval.

"So it's nice to come out and rip in and know we have to win and play our best cricket heading into the back-end of the tournament.

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"They're obviously two very different teams to what we're going to come up against during the summer (in the Ashes), but there's a few familiar faces in both camps.

"For us it's a must-win game. England have obviously got that win on the board and they're pretty comfortable with the way they're playing their cricket.

"It's about trying to get that win to get through to that next stage, but to also try and find a few weak points in some of their players heading into the summer as well."

Eight members of Australia's Test squad from their recent tour of India are part of this Champions Trophy campaign, along with another Test contender in James Pattinson, while England's squad includes their new Test leadership duo of Joe Root and Ben Stokes as well as Test regulars Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali.

Starc added Australia's recent record in win-or-bust ODIs gives them confidence heading into what is essentially a quarter-final clash.

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In the past five years, Australia have won eight of 12 matches that have either been bilateral series deciders or knockout matches at a major event.

While they lost their final group game at the Champions Trophy four years ago to drop out of the tournament before the semi-finals, Starc said must-win games bring the best out of his teammates.

"It's never hard to get up for a game ... I think our team probably respond to must-win games really well.

"Guys pretty much step up as a group and it brings out the best in us.

"And we've obviously got a good record in tournament play so I think this is something we can call upon in this game on Saturday."

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 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)