England will produce a fearless brand of cricket at the Champions Trophy which they are hosting next month, said all-rounder Moeen Ali. Hosts England go into the tournament as one of the favourites and are placed in a group that also features Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
The mindset of the England players has changed ever since Eoin Morgan was made captain, Ali said, as reported by BBC. Morgan has led the team to seven wins in nine One-Day Internationals since their group-stage exit at the 2015 World Cup. England have also scored 350-plus eight times since 2015, the most by any international team. Prior to this, England had crossed 350 only twice in their ODI history. “[Morgan] wants us to play without fear and to hit the lights out,” Ali said.
“Morgan is a very calm person which comes across on TV too,” Ali added on his captain. “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.”
Ali will also play under England’s new Test captain Joe Root in their series against South Africa following the Champions Trophy. Ali expects Root to bring his “cheeky” personality to his captaincy and take more risks than his predecessor, Alastair Cook, who resigned following England’s 4-0 drubbing in India last year.
“Joe is quite a cheeky guy and he will bring that personality into his captaincy,” Ali said. “He will take more risks as captain than Cook and bring his own style into the side. He has been the same since becoming England Test captain. I don’t think he is going to change too much, he will be the same Joe Root as he has been for the last three years.”
England have lost two finals of ICC tournaments in the last four years – the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2016 World Twenty20. Asked if there is pressure on the team to lift the trophy this time, especially since they are hosts, Ali said, “Not really. The team we have at the moment, we deserve that tag. 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.”
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