The underdog advantage

'Nobody expects a miracle in the Champions Trophy, but a few telling blows, however fleetingly delivered, will do very nicely indeed' © Getty Images

In the days of yore, before air travel shrank the world and made such stopovers unnecessary, English Ashes parties used to pull into Sri Lanka (or Ceylon, as it was then known) to break up the monotony of their long voyages Down Under. It was a break that helped the acclimatization process, among other benefits, and on one level that's precisely how England's sojourn in India currently feels, as they await their bow in this year's Champions Trophy.

A chance to ease back into the winter routine - is that really what this competition is all about? Well, yes and no. As the presence of England's walking wounded can testify, from Ashley Giles to the non-bowling captain, Andrew Flintoff, the primary objective of the coming month is for the key members of the squad to reacquaint themselves with the unique conditions of an overseas tour. Anything that follows from that is a bonus.

And yet, for England, there is something remarkably opportune about the timing of this year's competition - something that wasn't entirely apparent on first viewing. It's the global event that lacks global renown, the take-it-or-leave-it tournament that will offer the team precisely what they choose to make of it. It's a rare and genuine chance for the squad to have their cake and eat it.

If England put up an impressive showing, suddenly the words "mini-World Cup" and "Ashes tonic" will be bandied around in the media. But if they flop as English one-day sides are prone to do, then (so long as Flintoff doesn't break down in the process), the nation will shrug its collective shoulders, and move on to the main event. The real pressure to perform will come from within, and that's exactly as it should be.

By common consent, England's one-day strategy is a shambles. Two unexpected victories over a distracted Pakistan cannot deflect attention from a 2006 record that served up four victories in 17 matches (one of which was a lacklustre display against Ireland). Long gone are the days when Duncan Fletcher arranged ad-hoc tours of Zimbabwe to increase his players' exposure to the shortened form of the game. The team is no more reliable than in October 2001, when Ryan Sidebottom was in possession of the new ball.

But, in the coming month, there is an opportunity for Fletcher to test a new strategy, one that could be England's best hope come the real World Cup in five months' time. It's called "click your fingers and come running", and it involves blocking the squad's ears to the massive and justifiable derision that the Champions Trophy attracts, while massaging the big-game mentality of the team's big-name players, some of whom (naming no names) have been coasting for the best part of 13 months now.

It's worked in the past for England and it can work again. Just as your average klutz on the squash-court can transform into Jahangir Khan the moment the knockabout ends and you start playing for points, so it is that England - at least in the last couple of years - have learnt to pull out their stops at the critical moments. The flip side is that they can be infuriatingly ordinary whenever they think the heat is off, but I guess that's the price you pay for securing the most coveted prize of all.

And, with that in mind, there's one encounter looming on October 21 that will be loaded with hidden (and not-so-hidden) agendas. No-one who witnessed it could doubt the significance of England's last encounter with Australia in the Champions Trophy, when they ended a numbing five-year streak of defeats, nor their brace of limited-overs wins in early 2005 - the Twenty20 mugging at the Rose Bowl, and Kevin Pietersen's first intercession of the summer, at Bristol six days later.

Self-fulfilling prophesies litter the world of sport. Just last night England 's footballers experienced the sort of humiliation that a few bad vibes and a 0-0 draw with Macedonia can bring about. England's cricketers, on the other hand, have landed themselves a win-win situation, by dint of their sheer awfulness in the one-day game. Nobody expects a miracle in the Champions Trophy, but a few telling blows, however fleetingly delivered, will do very nicely indeed. There's a lot to be said for being underdogs.