Champions Trophy Group B SWOT: Australia, South Africa favourites to enter semis

The Champions Trophy begins February 19.

Bengaluru: Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy from Group B along with South Africa.

But they will face stiff challenges from England and Afghanistan.

Here's the Group B SWOT analysis.

Australia's Travis Head

1. Australia

Strength: No other team has a better record in global events — six 50-over World Cups, one T20 World Cup and two Champions Trophies make them the most fearsome white ball unit.

They have a model ODI batting line-up, which can do the shapeshifting with the ebb and flow of the game. Skipper Steve Smith, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Jake-Fraser McGurk, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell etc can be a handful in any conditions.

Weakness: They will be without Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and that means the batters will have to do the heavy lifting in the tournament to give that extra cushion of runs to the bowlers.

Opportunity: It's a chance to assert their dominance in 50-over format and the Antipodeans would not want to miss it, and that desire should be their driving force against a set of group mates who are not exactly firing.

Threat: They are coming into the CT after a 0-2 defeat against Sri Lanka in the recent ODI series. The middling form of Labuschagne and McGurk will be a concern.

England's Jos Buttler during practice

2. England

Strength: On the paper, the Old Blighty have the most powerful white ball batting. If the likes of Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone fire in unison, it will be a nightmare for bowlers.

Their leg-spinner Adil Rashid is in good form as he had shown in the recent series against India, and he will have an important role to play on pitches that may give appreciable help to tweakers.

Weakness: But that aforementioned batting line-up came a cropper against Indian spinners, as England crashed to a 0-3 series defeat. Apart from Root and Buttler, none of the other batters looked comfortable against spin.

Opportunity: England have played in Pakistan in the not so distant past, and their first-hand knowledge of conditions might come handy. The overall form of Root and Buttler is encouraging as well.

Threat: Afghanistan, who have an array of spinners, will be a huge threat to England. The former world champions also have only one spinner in their line-up — Rashid, and will be hoping that Livingstone will support him with his mixed bag.

South Africa's Temba Bavuma reacts

3. South Africa

Strength: After India, South Africa, perhaps, have the most varied line-up in the tournament. They have anchors like Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, and smashers such as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. They have a balanced bowling unit led by pacer Kagiso Rabada and spinner Keshav Maharaj. They should be able to tide over most of the circumstances.

Weakness: Despite all the said strength factors, they failed to enter the recent ti-series final, losing the crunch match to Pakistan, a reminder to that very deep and old wound. They might also feel the absence of pacer Anrich Nortje, who was withdrawn after an injury.

Opportunity: It's a fine chance for them to add an ICC trophy to erase that 'C' tag around their necks, now as heavy as a five-pound millstone.

Threat: Australia and Afghanistan can throw a spanner in the works. To avoid that, SA will require a better outing from their bowlers, who recently failed to defend a 350-plus target against Pakistan.

Afghanistan's captain Rashid Khan

4. Afghanistan

Strength: They have a bunch of cricketers who have been playing together for a long time. Rashid Khan, Hashmathullah Shahidi, Gulbadin Naib and Rahmat Shah have seen and tamed many oppositions, including some traditional powerhouses.

They will also be playing in conditions closer to their home and it gives them a certain edge. Their march to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2024, is an underliner to their talent and confidence.

Weakness: They are coming into the CT without proper ODI match practice as their last 50-over appearance was against Zimbabwe in December, 2024. It may reflect in their outings here against superior opponents.

Opportunity: Afghanistan will play all their group matches in Karachi and Lahore, where spin has a vital role. The Afghans have a rich line of slow bowlers in Rashid, Mohammad Nabi and young tyros Noor Ahmad and Nangeyalia Kharote.

Threat: Their middle-order batting of late has been dawdling, putting a lot of pressure on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to churn out runs consistently. They have been doing it for the last year or so, but they would certainly prefer some more help from the likes of Shahidi, Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai.