Botham warns England to be more aggressive or risk losing Champion Trophy chances

London: Former England Test captain Sir Ian Botham has said that the team`s batsmen will need to make their time at the crease count more decisively than they managed against Australia if they want to progress in the ICC Champions Trophy.

According to Botham, although England has got to a good start with a win over Australia, and two points in the Champions Trophy, they have to work even harder to win on home soil if they find themselves on a good pitch and come up 40 runs short of a par score like they did on Saturday. Warning that bowlers cannot bail them out every time, Botham also said that England needed to be more aggressive where the situation allows earlier in the innings, adding that it gives a player the license to play some shots before the last 10 overs if he gets off to a good start and do not lose early wickets. Stating that batsmen needed to score runs if they occupy the crease for a long period of time in one-day cricket, Botham said that they also needed to put more pressure on the bowlers throughout the innings and not just at the death, adding that it is necessary to take advantage with imagination. Botham further said that although England got away with a score of 270 against Australia, which is not in a good form at the moment with their captain Michael Clarke away, it is however, necessary for the team to have higher scores like 310 to 320 against some of the bigger sides. According to Botham, England`s top three batsmen needed to use more of their arsenal, adding that although Jos Buttler`s strikes at Trent Bridge was remarkable, he is not going to do that every time. Botham advised that the order could be changed when the situation demands it by getting Buttler, Eoin Morgan or Ravi Bopara to take advantage of the good start, adding that a shake-up is necessary as 300 is not that great a score if England has to play on a flat pitch with a quick outfield and small boundaries. Botham further said that the team also needed to learn to adapt as getting a total that begins with a three is almost regulation stuff on some pitches. ANI