How to watch the ICC Champions Trophy and when Australia is playing

After an eight-year hiatus, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy is set to begin again, featuring the world's top national cricket teams. This annual tournament, one of the most important in cricket, will be co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, drawing significant attention from cricket fans worldwide.

The Champions Trophy is a 50-over cricket tournament organized by the ICC. The first two editions were held in Bangladesh in 1998 and Kenya in 2000, respectively, and were then known as the ICC KnockOut Trophy. Both of these tournaments featured an eight-team single-elimination format.

In 2002, the format was changed to a group stage followed by a final. Initially, the competition was held every two years, then there was a three-year gap from 2006 to 2009. Subsequently, the event was changed to be held every four years. As there was no tournament in 2021, the last Champions Trophy was in 2017.

Australian viewers can watch the ICC Champions Trophy live online through Amazon's Prime Video. Prime Video will also provide a Hindi-language broadcast stream. In addition, viewers can follow the progress of the matches through ABC Sport's live scores center and listen to live radio coverage.

This tournament marks the first time in nearly three decades that Pakistan has hosted an ICC international event. It is also the first time Pakistan has hosted an ICC event since the 1996 Cricket World Cup, as the country has struggled to host international events due to security concerns. Pakistan hosted virtually no international cricket between 2009 and 2019. However, not all Champions Trophy matches will be held in Pakistan.

Due to political conflicts, all of India's matches will be held in the UAE. If India reaches the semi-finals or final, those matches will also be held in the UAE. A total of eight teams are participating in this year's tournament, divided into two groups of four teams each. Australia is in Group B with England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Group A includes Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. Each team will play one match against the other teams in its group.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals—the first-placed team in each group will play against the second-placed team in the other group. The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final on March 9 (Sunday) at 8 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time. Australia's group stage schedule is as follows: February 22 (Saturday) against England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore; February 25 (Tuesday) against South Africa at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium; February 28 (Friday) against Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. All matches start at 8 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

Australia will send a team comprised of experienced players and promising young talents. The team, which has won the title twice (2006, 2009), will be without several well-known players who have been mainstays of the Australian white-ball team for many years. Captain Pat Cummins has returned to Australia for the birth of his child, while another fast bowler, Mitchell Starc, withdrew last week for personal reasons. Three other Australian players who have performed well in recent years, Mitch Marsh (back), Josh Hazlewood (rib strain), and Marcus Stoinis (retirement), will also not participate in the Champions Trophy.

The Australian Champions Trophy squad includes: Steve Smith (Captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa. Reserve player: Cooper Connolly.

The following are the champion teams of previous Champions Trophy/ICC KnockOut Trophy tournaments: 1998: South Africa; 2000: New Zealand; 2002: India and Sri Lanka (the trophy was shared as both finals were washed out by rain); 2004: West Indies; 2006: Australia; 2009: Australia; 2013: India; 2017: Pakistan.