Jamie Smith will make his ODI debut at No. 3 and keep wicket for England against Australia in the Champions Trophy opener in Lahore. Joe Root, previously England’s main No. 3, has moved to No. 4 following a poor ODI series against India. Smith, who has batted mostly at Nos. 5 or 6, aims to strengthen the middle order alongside Root, Harry Brook, and Jos Buttler. England faces challenges with Jacob Bethell injured and has opted for a batting-heavy lineup. Brydon Carse is also fit to play, while Australia’s squad is weakened due to injuries and withdrawals.
Joe Root has been England’s primary No. 3 for nearly a decade, but slipped to No. 4 during the final match of their recent ODI series in India, which ended in a 3-0 loss. He will maintain that position against Australia. Smith has previously batted at No. 5 or 6 in his seven-match ODI career, but now faces the challenge of a new position in his debut at an ICC event.
Following Jacob Bethell’s injury during the India series, England grappled with their lineup, appearing one batter short in the second ODI and lacking bowling depth in the third. They are sticking with a batting-heavy setup for the beginning of the Champions Trophy, with Liam Livingstone positioned at No. 7, necessitating that Livingstone and Root share 10 overs between them.
Root has occupied the No. 4 spot in 56 of his 163 ODI innings, with most of those occurring in the earlier stages of his international career. By placing Smith at No. 3, England’s middle order of Root, Harry Brook, and Jos Buttler will now bat in the 4-6 positions instead of 3-5, strengthening their middle-order after experiencing a series of collapses in India.
Smith appeared in only two of England’s eight matches during their white-ball tour of India due to a calf injury that sidelined him for the concluding T20I and all three ODIs. However, he has been declared fit to play against Australia and will keep the gloves, taking over from Phil Salt—who will open alongside Ben Duckett—and Jos Buttler.
Brydon Carse has also been cleared to play after recovering from a toe injury that kept him out of the second and third ODIs in India. He has been selected over Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Saqib Mahmood, and will bat at No. 8 as England’s third seamer, with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood sharing the new ball duties.
Australia’s Champions Trophy squad has been weakened by the last-minute withdrawals of five key players: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Marsh (all due to injury), in addition to Marcus Stoinis (who has retired from ODIs) and Mitchell Starc (for personal reasons). The last encounter between the two sides in this format was at the close of the 2024 English summer, where Australia triumphed in the series 3-2.
England XI vs Australia: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jamie Smith (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.