Write England off at your peril, says Onions ahead of Champions Trophy

London, Sep.23 (ANI): England fast bowler Graham Onions believes that despite the recent 6-1 hammering in the one-day series against Australia, his team still stands a good chance in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Onions said that the win against the Kangaroos in the last 'inconsequential' match of the seven match series has actually given the team a 'serious momentum', and that England should not be written off.

"Write us off at your peril," The Sun quoted Onions, as saying.

"If people have been writing us off, that is a huge gamble by them," he added.

Hitting back at all those who have given England as much chance of winning the coveted trophy as West Indies, who have sent a second string team due to a pay dispute, Onions said his team stands a good chance of entering the second stage of the tournament if players perform according to their capabilities.

"The smiles were back and energy levels high at our first fitness session here. We know that, if we play near our best, we have a great chance of going through to the next stage," he said.

England is placed in Group B and would take on Sri Lanka in their first encounter on Friday.

They would then play hosts South Africa on Sunday and New Zealand on next Tuesday before completing the round robin stage of the eight nation tournament.

Onions, who has been shortlisted for the Emerging Test Player of the Year award at the ICC Annual Awards, said the prime reason behind England's drubbing at the hands of Australia was that the team lacked experience.

"We under-performed against Australia but you have to remember they're one of the best teams in the world. We have a lot of new players - Sunday was my debut, Joe Denly has played five games and Eoin Morgan has not played many either," said Onions. (ANI)