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Smith targets ‘predictable’ England

England have been routinely excellent since the last World Cup but their formulaic approach has its downsides

Australia will look to expose England's predictability in their must-win Champions Trophy clash on Saturday, but skipper Steve Smith isn't expecting any charity from the tournament favourites in a match the Aussies must win to stay alive in the competition.

England are already guaranteed top spot in Group A after two consecutive wins, meaning they have nothing to play for at Edgbaston apart from the knowledge that another win would send their fierce rivals home.

The hosts are warm favourites to win their first-ever major one-day tournament after a stunning revival in the 50-over format since their embarrassing exit from the 2015 World Cup.

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Under skipper Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss, England have lost just seven of 27 ODIs at home since the World Cup and when batting first in all countries, they've scored 300 or more 17 times from 24 attempts in the past two years.

But Smith says there are some holes in England's armour that the Australians will look to exploit.

"I'd say they're quite predictable with the way they play," Smith said.

"They don't like to change a lot so from our aspect we know that and that's something we can play on.

"Obviously they've got some dangerous batters in their line-up who can score big runs and quick runs as well.

"Just their plans, the way they structure their innings and the way their bowlers are used and what the bowlers do (can be predictable). The bowlers have a set of skills that we know quite well and we know what they are going to do.

"So you're halfway through the battle, if that makes sense.

"It's been 18 months (since we last played them), but we've played a lot against each other. Whether it's in the IPL, or with each other, so we know each other's game pretty well.

"I think they've played some good cricket, particularly here in England. They know these conditions well, they are a dangerous side and are playing well at the moment."

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Given the uncertainty over the weather and pitch conditions, Smith said he won't finalise his XI until the morning of the match.

While the match is effectively a dead rubber for the hosts, wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler said on Wednesday the knowledge that a win would send Australia home is an added bonus for the home side.

And assistant coach Paul Farbrace is aware of England's recent troubles in dead rubbers, as shown by their thumping at the hands of South Africa at Lord's last month when they had an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

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"If you look at some of our series, we've had a bit of a wobble towards the end of some of our series," Farbrace said. "So we're constantly aware.

"There's a lot of nice things being said about this team and they deserve that. But we want to keep getting better, we want to keep improving and ... you want to keep winning. We want to keep our momentum going.

"Of course we're conscious of it and I'd be lying if I said we didn't think about it."

And Smith isn't expecting any favours ahead of the resumption of Ashes hostilities later this year.

"Yeah hopefully they don't turn up to play, that'd be nice," Smith said with a smile. "Hopefully they relax and we can force a few errors on them.

"But I don't think they will, playing against Australia. They'll be up for the challenge and ready to have a good battle out there. It's a big game for us and I'm excited."


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 beat South Africa by 19 runs (DL method)

8 June – Sri Lanka beat India by seven wickets

9 June – New Zealand lost to Bangladesh

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)