Ex-England player DeFreitas advises England to 'stick to settled team' to win Champions Trophy

Former England cricketer Phillip DeFreitas has said that if England can manage to maintain a settled group of players, then they can win the ICC Champions Trophy.

Former seam bowling -all-rounder DeFreitas, who played 103 one-day internationals in his career, was part of the England teams that finished runners-up at the 1987 and 1992 50-over World Cups, the Daily Star reports.

According to the former player, he wants Alastair Cook's boys to learn from England's successes of the past by staying loyal to their best XI after they have decided on the players to play in the eight-nation tournament, adding that the secret behind the past successes of England was the unity which came from a settled side.

Although DeFreitas agreed that injured match-winner Kevin Pietersen would be a loss for the team in the Champions Trophy, he is confident that every England player are capable of delivering on the big occasion, although he was against the team experimenting with their one-day formula and shunting players up and down the order, at this stage.

However, DeFreitas is heartened by the fact that new England one-day coach Ashley Giles knows his best XI to start the tournament this week, adding that the team can get a settled squad of players with Giles in charge and play their best team, adding that they only need to win five games to claim this tournament.

Although DeFreitas said that he and his former squads had got through two World Cup finals because of a settled and a good, all-round and balanced side, he admitted that England would need to make changes in their squad in case there were any injuries, adding that a key factor for the squad would be a player stepping up when he is needed.

According to DeFreitas, it is time that England won a 50-over event, adding that the team has a positive chance in the Champions Trophy as they have a good all-round side, a good fielding unit which boosts the confidence of bowlers and experienced and talented bowlers like James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann.

England, which play Australia at Edgbaston on Saturday and also face Sri Lanka and New Zealand in their group, will hope to make the final at Edgbaston on June 23, the report added.