Steve Smith has stressed how Australia must treat their group-stage opener against old foes England like a knock-out match as they simply can't afford a slow start to their Champions Trophy campaign.
Convinced "the pressure of big tournaments gets the best out of us as a team", Smith conceded on the eve of Saturday's clash in Lahore that world champions Australia still haven't performed as well as they would have liked down the years in the shorter-format Champions Trophy.
But he's still backing a side without their 'big-three' pacemen Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to shine in Pakistan as he looks forward to "a belter" of a 50-over contest with England.
