Australia vs England Highlights, ICC Champions Trophy: Ton-up Inglis stars as AUS pull off 352-run chase to beat ENG

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Australia vs England Highlights, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Josh Inglis' unbeaten century powered Australia to a massive 5-wicket win over rivals England in Lahore. Australia pulled off an incredible 352-run chase to start their campaign with a win. Inglis hammered 120 not out, and Alex Carey (69) and Matthew Short (63) made half-centuries as Australia reached the target with 15 balls to spare.

Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid spun their web in the middle overs to claim crucial wickets of Matthew Short and Marnus Labuschagne, respectively, as England tried to bounce back in the game, but in the end, Inglis took them over the line. Earlier, Matthew Short started Australia's fightback with a fine half-century, but his stay in the middle was cut short by Livingstone. Steve Smith and Travis Head were dismissed cheaply in the mammoth 352-run chase. Ben Duckett's 165-run knock powered England to 351 for 8 against Australia on Saturday. The left-handed opener held one end and played a counter-attacking knock to help England post the highest total in Champions Trophy history.

Duckett's 143-ball commanding innings was studded with 17 fours and three sixes, while Joe Root contributed 68 after England were asked to bat first.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets for 66 runs while Adam Zampa and Marnus Labuschagne chipped in with two each.

Earlier, Dwarshuis ran riot early in the powerplay to get a couple of wickets and put England under pressure. He got the better of Phil Salt and Jamie Smith as Australia gained early control over the game. Alex Carey pulled off a screamer at mid-on as Australia struck early in the first innings of their Champions Trophy 2025 opener vs England, in Lahore on Saturday. Opener Phil Salt had to depart for 10 off six balls in the second over, as he skied a delivery by Ben Dwarshuis to Carey for a stunning catch. Initially, Aussie skipper Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bowl.

England haven’t had the best start to life in Brendon McCullum’s era as white ball coach, entering this tournament on the back of a 3-0 pounding in the series against India earlier this month. Jos Buttler’s team still has plenty of fearsome names, including himself — batters such as Phil Salt, Joe Root, and Liam Livingstone, with seamers throwing down thunderbolts like Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. But it hasn’t quite come together for this team, who are looking for a refresh as the heroes who helped them redefine ODI cricket and lift the World Cup trophy in 2019 slowly age out.

England’s weaknesses were exposed brutally in the white-ball series against India: weakness against spin, an inability to make it to the end overs with wicket in hand, and no true second spin option to maintain pressure alongside Adil Rashid. These are problems which look like they have no easy solution, and one that the quality teams will be able to exploit.

However, England’s strength lies in their hitting ability on flat tracks, and that may come into play in Lahore more than it did in any of the Indian conditions. The flatter the track, the more England’s batters will shine, with every single one given the license to attack as and when they see fit.

When it comes to the defending World Cup champions Australia, things are very different to 16 months ago. This is a team devastated by injury, particularly in the fast-bowling department. The all-star trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc all sit out, meaning a less-experienced unit carries the burden on that front. David Warner and Marcus Stoinis have also retired, and the second opener position next to Travis Head has proven to be a bit of a headache with neither Jake Fraser-McGurk nor Matt Short finding their feet quite yet.

The bones of this incredibly powerful team are still there in the batting with Head, Labuschagne, Smith, and Maxwell, but the bowling could be the undoing for the Aussies. Add to this that the Australian team, although experimental, are coming in off a 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, as well as a series loss at home against Pakistan in November. Neither of these will particularly comfort Australian fans.

You can never write off Australia in ICC tournaments, certainly, but their dominance of the Champions Trophy is not quite as extreme in the ODI World Cup. They won in 2006 and 2009 in back to back editions, but have crashed out in consecutive group stages since. Can this inexperienced and injury-trodden team do something special to qualify against the odds?

It begins with this heated match against England with plenty on the line, as South Africa hold the top spot in the group after their opening win against Afghanistan. Gaddafi Stadium’s first game of the tournament, and it could get electric for two teams that both have their backs to the wall.