Revealing 12-Year Truth for Australians That Could Solve Key Mystery

Zampa confident in young squad | 00:46

It has been 12 years since Australia played a match in an ICC men’s 50-over tournament without one of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood in the starting XI.

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During the 2013 Champions Trophy contest against Sri Lanka in London, Mitchell Johnson and Clint McKay took the new ball, Shane Watson opened the batting alongside Phil Hughes, while Adam Voges accompanied captain George Bailey in the middle order.

The ‘big three’ of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins have led Australia’s bowling attack for over a decade, steering Australia towards World Cup triumphs in 2015 and 2023.

However, entering the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, Australia’s world-class pace trio is noticeably absent from the touring squad. The injury-prone Hazlewood is battling a hip complaint, captain Cummins is nursing a knee issue, while Starc withdrew from the ICC tournament due to personal reasons.

Their experience and skill can’t be replaced. Australia has played 28 ODIs without either of them in the starting XI since September 2016, winning just ten of them.

“Obviously those guys are big losses,” stand-in captain Steve Smith told cricket.com.au this week.

“There’s no doubt they’re world-class performers and have done a tremendous job for a long time.

“But the reality is they’re not here – so we have to focus on what we do have.”

With their star trio missing, Australia instead gets a glimpse at the country’s next generation of pace bowlers during the Champions Trophy, headlined by Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis.

ICC events are often accompanied by retirements – with the next major 50-over tournament not scheduled until late 2027, Hazlewood and Starc could be tossing up whether to retire from ODIs so they can focus on Test cricket and high-paying T20 leagues.

With one eye on the 2027 World Cup and beyond, the Champions Trophy serves as a litmus test to see how Australia would fare without Starc and Hazlewood in their arsenal.

The inexperience within Australia’s pace attack is glaring. Abbott, Ellis and Johnson have collectively taken 47 wickets in 40 ODIs, compared to 525 scalps in 308 matches for Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins.

Australia hasn’t selected a less experienced bowling attack for a major ICC event since the 1979 World Cup, when several first-choice players were unavailable due to World Series Cricket commitments.

However, the unproven trio of Abbott, Ellis and Johnson, who will receive assistance from all-rounder Aaron Hardie, have the makings of a formidable bowling attack, particularly when accompanied by leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

Ellis, who recently led the Hobart Hurricanes towards a maiden title in the Big Bash League, is one of Australia’s craftiest seamers, boasting a plethora of variations and slower balls that he executes to great effect. He’s become a sought-after name on the T20 circuit courtesy of his heroics in the T20 Blast and Big Bash, while he’ll be a valuable weapon for Australia during death overs throughout the Champions Trophy.

Johnson, meanwhile, is the Starc replica – left-handed, tall, rapid. He can swing the new ball and generate steep bounce off lifeless decks during the Powerplay.

Erratic and unpredictable, the South Australian will be tasked with creating early breakthroughs during his opening spell, fulfilling a role Starc has mastered over the past 14 years. Tough shoes to fill.

Elsewhere, Abbott finally gets his chance to shine in an ICC event after carrying drinks throughout the majority of the 2023 World Cup campaign in India. The New South Welshman is the most successful bowler in BBL history with 175 wickets across 14 summers, but his recent record in ODIs – five scalps at 70.00 across seven ODIs – leaves a lot to be desired.

Australia’s ODI bowling record

Adam Zampa – 181 wickets at 28.56

Sean Abbott – 37 wickets at 37.69

Nathan Ellis – 12 wickets at 33.75

Aaron Hardie – 10 wickets at 33.70

Ben Dwarshuis – 2 wickets at 32.50

Spencer Johnson – 2 wickets at 66.50

Tanveer Sangha – 2 wickets at 79.50

Australia’s Spencer Johnson. Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFPSource: AFP

Johnson the enforcer, Abbott the workhorse, and Ellis the deceiver. They each know their roles, but they’ll need to be relentless with their execution considering Pakistan’s flat decks and short boundaries.

Recent results suggest that 320 is a par score in Pakistan, so keeping opponents to less than a run-a-ball over the coming fortnight could be enough to secure a spot in the Champions Trophy decider.

Sydney Sixers superstar Ben Dwarshuis, who made his ODI debut last September, is the reserve quick in Australia’s squad. Although T20 cricket remains his superior format, the left-handed seamer’s a threat with the new ball and at the death, while he’s more than handy with the willow.

Meanwhile, tweaker Tanveer Sangha was added to the Champions Trophy squad at the eleventh hour, allowing Australia to call upon a second strike spinner if required. Touted as Zampa’s heir apparent in the national white-ball teams, the 23-year-old is unlikely to feature in the starting XI unless the Australians are confronted with a bunsen burner in Pakistan.

Australia has not unleashed two wrist-spinners in a men’s ODI since the 1999 World Cup.

Even if Australia fails to lift the Champions Trophy this month, the experience could pay dividends for the likes of Ellis, Johnson and Abbott when they touch down in South Africa for the 2027 World Cup.

“Most ICC events that we’ve played over the last decade, it’s been a very similar bowling attack,” Zampa said on Thursday.

“To not have those guys here is obviously a big loss, and we know that.

“It’s obviously a great opportunity too. We’ve got an ODI World Cup in a couple of years, and for guys that have played ten games, it can be difficult to come in and feel like you’re going to be a match-winner.

“But as long as we’re playing our roles and contributing, that will be important throughout.

“Hopefully a match-winner somewhere along the way pulls it off for us.”

He continued: “They don’t have to come in and set the world on fire. It’s just play a role and get used to the style of cricket that we play.”

Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign gets underway against England at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, with the first ball scheduled for 8pm AEDT.