Australia National Cricket Team will kick off their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign today (February 22) with a highly anticipated match against their arch-rivals England National Cricket Team at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This encounter marks the beginning of Australia’s journey in the tournament as they look to claim their third Champions Trophy title.

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Despite their powerful batting lineup Australia Cricket Team enters this match with a noticeable weakness in their bowling department. The defending ODI champions are missing their renowned pace trio of Captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc which could prove to be a significant challenge.

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Cummins and Hazlewood are out of the tournament due to injuries they sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. Cummins is recovering from an ankle injury while Hazlewood is sidelined with a hip issue. Additionally all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is also out with a back injury further depleting Australia's squad.

Mitchell Starc withdrew from the Champions Trophy for personal reasons requesting privacy during this time. His absence is a major blow to Australia as national selector George Bailey acknowledged but he appreciated Starc’s commitment to Australian cricket over the years.

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first. When asked about the decision England captain Jos Buttler mentioned that he would have opted to bowl as well, citing similar conditions favoring the chasing side.

“We're going to have a bowl. Looks like a good surface, and there's dew, so we'd prefer to chase. We have a balanced lineup with some swing up top, and we'll focus on matchups,” said Australia skipper Steve Smith during the toss.

Australia Playing XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.

England Playing XI: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.