George Bailey predicts his semi-finalists for Champions Trophy 2017

The ever smiling cricketer, George Bailey is best known for his calmness on the field, and the way he maintains himself even under pressure. Bailey is also famous for the extraordinary shots he plays in the limited over cricket. The Australian hard-hitter, who has previously captained his side in T20I as well as the ODI matches, played the Champions Trophy in 2013. He recorded successive fifties in the tournament – 55 vs England and 55 vs New Zealand – both of which came at Edgbaston in June.

Bailey lost his ODI spot for the Pakistan series earlier this year, and with little to no domestic one-day cricket to prove himself after that, he couldn’t force his way back into the Champions Trophy squad even though he enjoyed a very successful Big Bash League and Sheffield Shield form.

Writing for cricket.com.au, Bailey predicted his semi-finalists for the 2017 Champions Trophy. “It’s hard to predict the four semi-finalists because you’re putting a line through four teams that have no real weaknesses and are capable of doing really well. But if I had to pick, I’d go with Australia and England from Group A, and India and South Africa from Group B,” Bailey wrote.

High expectations from England 

He also explained why fans have high hopes from the England Cricket Team. They’ve been a strong force in ODIs in the last 2 years, and the current set of players are one of the best England ODI has ever had. Plus they have the home advantage with them.

“There’s a bit of expectation on England going into this tournament because they’ve been so strong over the past two years, especially at home. A lot of past players have come out and said this is England’s greatest one-day team ever. And the icing on the cake is they’re playing at home, which I think always adds that extra little bit of expectation.”