World champs keeping cool as semi-final venue remains uncertain until final Group A clash

Travis Head says Australia are trying to stay relaxed as they remain in the dark over whether they’ll be playing their Champions Trophy semi-final in either Pakistan or 2000km away in Dubai.

The in-form left-hander sounded perfectly chilled following the ODI world champs’ qualification despite the uncertainty over where, when and against whom they’ll play their final-four contest.

The difficulties for both Australia and South Africa, who’ve both qualified from group B, is that they must wait until Sunday evening, following India’s match with New Zealand, to know which of the two teams they’ll be playing – and the venue.

Following the Proteas’ seven-wicket hammering of England on Saturday, the Australians have finished second behind South Africa in group B, and will face the winners of Sunday’s clash in Dubai in the last-four.

If that’s New Zealand, then the trans-Tasman rivals will be playing back at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore in Pakistan on Wednesday.

But if India, who’ve refused to play in neighbouring Pakistan, emerge victorious, then Australia will play the favourites in Dubai on Tuesday, where Rohit Sharma’s side has been based all tournament. 

The situation meant Australia had to travel to the UAE on Saturday so that they don’t miss out on their only chance to train on Monday at the Dubai International Stadium, where conditions are very different to those they’ve been experiencing in Pakistan.

The only problem with that is they’ll have to fly back to Lahore on Monday should India lose.

This potential travel headache didn’t appear to be fazing the laidback Head, though, as he spoke before the team flew off to the Gulf.

“We’ll watch the next couple of days, stay relaxed and then get to work. I guess there’ll be two different scenarios where it could be two different conditions,” he shrugged. 

“Whether we go to Dubai and play there, which looks like it’s a little bit more difficult or more challenging pitch than is here (in Lahore). It’s a little bit more low-scoring. 

“So we’ll see how we go.”

The situation, though, has again highlighted the uneven playing field of a competition in which India has enjoyed a huge advantage because of the team’s refusal to play in Pakistan on security and political grounds.

“If you can stay in one place, stay in one hotel, practice in the same facilities, play in the same stadium, on the same pitches every time, it’s definitely an advantage,” noted Rassie van der Dussen, who guided South Africa to victory and a top-of-the-table spot in the win over England in Karachi on Saturday.

“I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to know that.”

Head, whose unbeaten 59 in the washed-out match against Afghanistan showed he’s in fine nick, said he feels Australia are equipped to lift the title wherever they play, even with their relatively inexperienced outfit and the likely late loss of opener Matt Short.

“I feel like we’re playing well,” he said. “I guess the first point is getting to the semis. I feel like we’ve done an extremely good job with the inexperience that we’ve got in the side.

“It’s huge for us moving forward as well, when you look at what’s to come over the next couple of years with two World Cups around the corner, with guys getting experience in a tournament like this. 

“This is important, because we’re now into a semi and I think the style that we’re playing, if we continue to keep doing it, there’s no reason why we couldn’t win it.”

2025 ICC men’s Champions Trophy standings

Round 1

Group A

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 New Zealand Men NZ	2	2	0	0	0	0.863	0	4
2 India Men IND	2	2	0	0	0	0.647	0	4
3 Bangladesh Men BAN	3	0	2	0	1	-0.443	0	1
4 Pakistan Men PAK	3	0	2	0	1	-1.087	0	1

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Group B

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 South Africa Men SA	3	2	0	0	1	2.395	0	5
2 Australia Men AUS	3	1	0	0	2	0.475	0	4
3 Afghanistan Men AFG	3	1	1	0	1	-0.99	0	3
4 England Men ENG	3	0	3	0	0	-1.159	0	0

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Broadcast exclusively on Prime Video in Australia. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial

Australia’s Group B fixtures

February 22: beat England by five wickets (15 balls remaining)

February 25: match abandoned v South Africa

February 28: no result v Afghanistan

March 4: Semi-final 1, Dubai (8pm AEDT)

March 5: Semi-final 2, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

March 9: Final, Lahore or Dubai (8pm AEDT)

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly