Daijiworld Media Network

London, Jun 1 : Four years ago, this tournament was dying a natural death. 2013 was expected to be its final edition and fittingly was played in England - the country where the game was born. The top-eight teams competed in a two-group structure and the finals saw the hosts, England playing the then world champions, India. In a rain truncated event, MS Dhoni and his men put up a sparkling performance and emerged victorious. It was a tonic that wasn't needed just by the Indians but by the tournament itself. Come 2017, the scrapped the World Test championships and instead opted for another edition of the 50-over competition - the Champions Trophy.

'The sun is out, not too many clouds around and there's no rain expected either. The outfield is in a pristine shape. The pitch is a fresh one and looks a very good surface, no matches has been played on it until now. The average score for the team batting first over the last three years is 259, looks an excellent batting surface,' reckons Ian Bishop, in his pitch report.

England have won the toss and have opted to field

Morgan: We will bowl first. It's a 10:30 start, if there's anything in the wicket, it will be useful to bowl then. Everyone's are fit, but we are going with four seamers. Jake Ball replaces Adil Rashid. Jason looked good in the nets, playing in his homeground - he should be back into form. We can hoperfully continue the momentum through the tournament.'

Mortaza: 'We would have bowled first as well. There will be some swing early on, we need to put up a good score on the board. We are excited about the game, they will start as favourites, but we will not fear them. We will look to play hard.'

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Jake Ball

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain

News filtering in from the English camp is that Ben Stokes bowled 10 deliveries off his full run-up and has passed fit to bowl today. That should be a big confidence booster ahead of a major tournament such as this. Eoin Morgan has also confirmed that Jason Roy will keep his place - despite his modest form at the top of the order and that will mean that Jonny Bairstow will have to wait for his opportunity.

'Group of Death' consisting of England, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand get us going in the first of 12 preliminary games - across three venues in England (The Oval, Edgbaston and Swalec). The hosts - for once being tagged as the favourites, begin the campaign against Bangladesh - a team that's challenging themselves and the rest of the big boys with every passing series. Both teams have experienced quite a few highs and lows, over the past few months. England, playing a brand of cricket that has caught the attention of the world brushed aside World number one South Africa in the first two of their 3-match bilateral series, before slipping to mediocrity in the final dead rubber. Days after becoming the number six ranked ODI team for the first time in their short history, Bangladesh plunged the depths during their two warm-up games. Mortaza and Bangladesh haven't been competitive enough outside home comforts and this match will certainly test their resolve.

So, what has changed between 2013 and the 2017? The big boys are all there except for the merry men from the Caribbean Islands. The 2004 champions, the 1998 and 2006 finalists, have slipped down the ladder and find themselves out of the top-eight. They have been replaced by the ever-improving Bangladeshis - themselves playing their first Champions Trophy, since 2004. It's a happy homecoming for Mashrafe Mortaza's men, but can they do more than just being also rans over the next couple of weeks?