Champions Trophy: Australia win toss, opt to bowl against England

Australia skipper Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bowl against England in their opening Champions Trophy match at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.

Australia has drafted in in-form wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey in the middle-order, despite having another stumper in Josh Inglis.

With short boundaries and a batter-friendly pitch, experts predict a high-scoring match.

At toss, Australia captain Steve Smith said, “It looks a pretty good surface. There was dew during the training yesterday. In-form Alex Carey in the side to bolster middle order.”

England captain Jos Buttler said, “Probably, I would have batted (if I won the toss). Was a 50-50 decision. We are very confident, really excited for the game.”

Both the teams have arrived in Champions Trophy on the back of an ODI series loss.

Australia lost to Sri Lanka 0-2 and England were whitewashed in India 0-3.

England are slightly ahead in the head-to-head record in the Champions Trophy with a 3-2 margin over Oz.