Jamie Smith will make his debut as a No. 3 batsman in the upcoming Champions Trophy opener against Australia, on Saturday. This will be a new role for Jamie Smith, who has only batted at No. 5 or 6 in his seven-match ODI career. The match will also mark his first appearance at an ICC event.
England announced their playing 11 for their 2025 Champions Trophy opener against Australia on Thursday, almost two days before the clash at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday. The team saw two major changes with wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith slotting in at number three and Jofra Archer returning to the pace attack after missing the second and third ODIs of the three-match series against India earlier this month.
Jamie Smith’s international career for England
Fit-again Jamie Smith will keep wicket and bat at No 3 in England’s ICC Champions Trophy opener against Australia. Jamie Smith missed the final two T20 internationals and 3-0 one-day international whitewash against India recently with a calf injury but has been named in the XI for Saturday’s clash in Lahore.
The 24-year-old has not batted higher than No 5 in his seven previous one-day internationals, while his best score in the format is the 49 he struck against Australia at Headingly in September.
Jamie Smith has never batted at number three in his six-match-long ODI career. where he has scored 133 runs at an average of 22.17 and a strike rate of 93.01. He missed the India series due to an injury and England tried Joe Root at the spot in the first two matches, before bringing in Tom Banton there in the third game. However, neither solved their batting issues as the team lost the series 3-0, drawing immense criticism.
Jamie Smith To Bat At 3 As England Announce 11 For 2025 Champions Trophy Opener Vs Australia
Jamie Smith’s inclusion at number three suggests the team’s intention to continue with Joe Root at number four with Harry Brook and Jos Buttler forming the spine at number five and six. In the bowling department, England have gone with a pace-heavy attack, with Adil Rashid being the only specialist spinner.
England’s first-choice No. 3 for almost a decade, Joe Root, will now bat at No. 4. One first witnessed this in the final match of their recently-concluded ODI series in India, which England lost 3-0. With Jamie Smith batting at No. 3, England’s core batting line-up of Root, Harry Brook and Jos Buttler will now bat from No. 4-6 instead of No. 3-5.
Apart from his new batting position, Jamie Smith will also keep wicket for England in the Champions Trophy opener against Australia. The decision comes after he was declared fit after a calf injury ruled him out for most of England’s white-ball tour to India. Jamie Smith will take the gloves from Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, who will open with Ben Duckett.
Phil Salt, who had been keeping wicket, will play as a specialist batter, continuing an opening partnership with Ben Duckett that was one of the few highlights of the chastening India tour as England suffered a fourth straight ODI series defeat after a 4-1 loss in the T20 series. The pace attack will consist of Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood, with Archer and Carse returning after hand and toe niggles respectively, while Liam Livingstone and Joe Root will combine as the fifth bowler and support sole frontline spinner Adil Rashid.
Despite struggling to find a balance in their team after Jacob Bethell’s injury in India, England have opted to stick with a batting-heavy lineup for the Champions Trophy opener. Liam Livingstone is set to bat at No. 7, meaning he and Root will have to share 10 overs between them. Brydon Carse has also been declared fit after a toe injury and will bat at No. 8 as England’s third seamer.
Top-order batter Tom Banton – who replaced the injured Jacob Bethell (hamstring) from England’s initial squad – seamers Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson, and pace bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton are those in the 15-player party to miss out. Duckett tweaked his groin fielding in the third and final ODI against India on February 12 – a game England lost by 142 runs – but was passed fit for the Champions Trophy three days later.
Australia’s Champions Trophy squad has been rocked by the late withdrawals of five senior players: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries; Marcus Stoinis has retired from ODIs; and Mitchell Starc for personal reasons. The last time these two teams met in this format was at the end of the 2024 English summer, where Australia came out on top with a 3-2 series win.
After facing an Australia side shorn of senior seam-bowling trio Pat Cummins (ankle), Josh Hazlewood (hip) and Mitchell Starc (personal reasons), England face further Group B games against Afghanistan (February 26) and South Africa (March 1).The top two sides in the pool will qualify for the semi-finals on March 4 and 5, ahead of the final on March 9.
England’s XI to face Australia: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (WK), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (C), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood