England in the zone to be Champs!

MOEEN Ali insists England will embrace the pressure of being favourites for this summer’s Champions Trophy because they believe they can beat any team in the world.

The all-rounder has been given an extended break by England and will not begin his season until Worcestershire’s County Championship match against Northamptonshire on April 21.

But Moeen already has his sights set on helping his country land their first major global 50over title in the Champions Trophy.

England, who will start their campaign against Bangladesh at The Oval on June 1, will go into the tournament as favourites after their stunning resurgence in white-ball cricket over the past two years.

And Moeen says that is a status this group of players are comfortable with.

“We are expecting to do well, so I don’t see anything wrong with that,” he said. “I don’t feel the pressure personally and I don’t think the guys do. I think it’s something we’ve been building up to for the last couple of years and we’re just going to look forward to it and embrace the pressure rather than fear it.

“I feel we can beat any team and the guys believe that as well. It’s about getting a bit of momentum going into the tournament and going out there from ball one in the first game ready and firing to go. We’ve played well and we’ve got a lot of belief that we can beat anybody.”

Moeen cites the influence of captain Eoin Morgan, rather than coach Trevor Bayliss, for the team’s renaissance in limitedovers cricket since the last World Cup in 2015.

Morgan also led the side in that campaign in Australia and New Zealand, where England bombed out in the first round.

Yet Moeen insists it is the Dublin-born batsman who has been the key to England’s rapid progress since then.

“I think he should take the most credit,” he said.“I know we’ve had a change of coach, but he’s really allowed us both on and off the pitch to do what we want.

“The way he carries himself around the guys, he can go up to anyone and talk about anything and he’s very welcoming to the

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> new players. That’s another big thing.

“I think he deserves a lot of credit for the way he is as captain and the way he conducts himself in front of the guys. He’s got the guys closer together. He’s a fantastic batsman, he’s got a lot of one-day hundreds now against some unbelievable bowling attacks and while form is up and down he’d get into the team just as a captain without his batting. That’s how highly we think of him.”

ICC Champions Trophy tickets went back on sale on Wednesday. Since then over 33,000 have been sold. Limited tickets remain for seven fixtures which can be purchased via www.icccricket.