Melbourne, Feb. 21 -- Ahead of his nation's campaign opener in the ICC Champions Trophy against arch-rivals England, former Australian cricketer Shane Watson backed the Men in Yellow and said that they will be "hard to beat" in the ongoing marquee event despite being missing their top three bowlers in the competition.

Australia head to Pakistan as the reigning world champions in the 50-over format and sit second in the men's ODI team rankings.

But with just one win from their last five ODI matches - and key bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all missing from the squad - questions have been raised about their ability to claim the trophy in Pakistan.

"I think Australia will be very hard to beat, even if their bowling ...