Champions Trophy 2025: England - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, And Threats

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

England Team in ODIs [Source: AP Photos]England Team in ODIs [Source: AP Photos]

After suffering humiliating defeat against India in the white ball series, England will be keen on bouncing back during the Champions Trophy 2025. The Jos Buttler-led side will be looking to start their performance with a bang and script a championship run for themselves during the tournament.

England will be starting their campaign against their arch-rivals, Australia on February 22. The English team will try and take the upper hand over their rivals and start the tournament with a bang. As Jos Buttler and his men gear up for the tournament, we take a look at their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 and try to analyse their strengths and weaknesses.

England Squad For ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Batters: Jos Buttler, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith
All-rounders: Brydon Carse, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton
Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Strengths Of England Team For ICC Champions Trophy 2025

1. Firepower In The Top Order

Batters
Strike Rate
Ben Duckett102.71
Phil Salt114.59
Joe Root86.74
Harry Brook101.98
Jos Buttler116.25

Table - Strike Rate of the English top-order in ODIs

Inference: The table shows us the strike rate of the English top-order batters in the ODI format. Out of the top five batters in the probable playing XI, four have a strike rate of over 100. This shows that England prefer a brand of cricket where they like to dominate the opposition from the beginning of a game. 

Instead of looking to lay a solid foundation, the English batters try and get off to a blazing start propelling the team towards formidable total. However, this may sometimes backfire, it is a strategy that can intimidate the opposition often and give them an advantage in most games.

2. Variation Of All Rounders

Player
Batting Role
Bowling Role
Brydon CarseLower Order SupportPrime Pacer
Liam LivingstonePower Finisher
Versatile Spinner
Jamie OvertonPower FinisherSupporting Pacer

Table- Role of the all-rounders in the England squad

Inference: The all-rounders in England's Champions Trophy 2025 squad give a lot of depth, variety and flexibility to the team. While there is Brydon Carse, who can be one of the lead pacers during the tournament, there is also Liam Livingstone, who can bring about depth in the spin department with his ability to bowl both leg spin and off spin. Besides, there is also Jamie Overton who can play the role of a supporting pacer and help the team in the middle phase of an innings.

The batting role of the these three all-rounders are also different. While Livingstone will have the responsibility of increasing the scoring rate in the middle and death phase, Jamie Overton will mainly play the role of a power hitter in the lower middle-order. On the other hand, Brydon Carse can come in the lower order and play the role of a supporting batter with one from the top if needed.

Weaknesses Of England Team For ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Joe Root will play the anchor for England in Champions Trophy 2025 [Source: AP Photos]Joe Root will play the anchor for England in Champions Trophy 2025 [Source: AP Photos]

1. Absence Of A Grafter Barring Joe Root In The Batting Line-up

The English batting order is full of power hitters. While this could be a huge advantage for them, it can also put them on the back foot in certain cases. They have more batters who can play fiery cameos of 30-40 runs but lack batters who can build their knock and pace their innings as per the demand of the game. 

Joe Root is the only batter who tries to find his way with singles and doubles into an innings and tries to convert his start into big knocks. The over dependence on Joe Root to anchor the innings of the team is one of the prime weaknesses for England going into the tournament.

2. Lack Of Depth In The Spin Department

Bowlers
Average
Economy Rate
Strike Rate
Adil Rashid32.615.64 34.6
Liam Livingstone40.13 6.04 39.8
Joe Root59.255.8960.3

Inference: A look at the spin department of England for the Champions Trophy 2025 indicates that they will be over dependent on Adil Rashid as a spinner during the tournament. Besides Rashid, they will have to fall back to the likes of Liam Livingstone or Joe Root to get them through the middle phase. So, the fact that England will be over dependent on Adil Rashid for the spin bowling duties will be one of their biggest weaknesses.

Opportunities For England Team In Champions Trophy 2025

Brendon McCullum and Jos Buttler need to keep a plan B ready for Champions Trophy 2025 [Source: AP Photos]Brendon McCullum and Jos Buttler need to keep a plan B ready for Champions Trophy 2025 [Source: AP Photos]

1. Proving Their Critics Wrong About Their Style Of Play

The continued aggressive style of cricket that England play have often earned them criticism from a lot of the followers and experts. The Champions Trophy 2025 will be an opportunity for the team to prove to the world that their way is the best way of approaching the game. The tournament presents them the scope to win a title by playing ultra-aggressive and decisive brand of cricket.

Threats For England Team In Champions Trophy 2025

1. Injury Prone Pace Attack

Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson will have major roles to play in England's journey in the Champions Trophy 2025. While Jofra Archer has returned to cricket after nursing a major injury, Atkinson and Wood have often stayed away from the action due to injuries. The fact that these players can pick up an niggle at any stage during the tournament is one of the major threats for the English team.

2. No Plan B To Fall Back To

In the last few seasons, England game has been a bit unidimensional. While their brand of cricket is attractive and result oriented, it has looked like they have no plan B to fall to when their brand of the game fails. The lack of an alternative plan could be costly for the team in big matches or crunch situations during the tournament.

Predictions For England In Champions Trophy 2025

England look like a strong team on the papers, however they have some major holes and their is seems to be lack of proper planning and strategies. They have Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan in their group. Looking at the group and their squad, it seems that the best England can do is qualify for the semi-finals.