AUSTRALIA HOLD BACK PATTINSON

AUSTRALIA will resist the temptation to unleash their fearsome four-pronged pace attack when they take on New Zealand at Edgbaston. The quartet of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are being touted as Ashes winners this winter and could yet take the field against England at Edgbaston on June 10. But Australian captain Steve Smith is reluctant to field all four at once so early in the Champions Trophy, preferring instead to bolster the batting, with the hard-hitting seamer John Hastings likely to pip Pattinson and Marcus Stoinis. That still leaves Smith with plenty of firepower as his side seek revenge for losing 2-0 in an ODI series in New Zealand earlier this year. Starc, whose brisk left-arm swing made him the joint leading wicket-taker at the 2015 World Cup, is third in the one-day rankings, with the accurate Hazlewood in fifth. Cummins is the fastest of the lot. With opening batsman David Warner in the form of his life, Smith was quietly confident his players’ contract dispute with Cricket Australia would not prove a distraction during the tournament. ‘The guys have been great,’ he said. ‘The Australian Cricketers’ Association is handling everything back home. ‘Our focus is on this tournament. It’s very cut-throat. You need to be switched on the whole time but we’ve got a very good record in ICC events. Everyone’s pumped and ready to get started.’ New Zealand’s preparation has included a tri-series in Ireland, where they lost one of two games against Bangladesh. But they chased 357 to beat Sri Lanka in a warm-up at Edgbaston on Tuesday, with opener Martin Guptill — described by captain Kane Williamson as ‘possibly our best white-ball cricketer’ — making 116 off 76 balls. And if Trent Boult and Tim Southee can swing the new ball, Australian minds may drift back to their horror shows with the bat on recent Ashes tours.