Lahore, Feb. 23 -- After England's loss to Australia in their ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener, former England skipper Nasser Hussain said that the absence of veteran all-rounder Ben Stokes is hurting the Three Lions as his inclusion in the Champions Trophy squad would have made the balance of the team more "comfortable".

Even making 351 runs did not prove to be safe for England as a resilient Alex Carey and explosive pair of Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell helped Australia secure a five-wicket win at Lahore on Saturday.

Speaking after the match to Sky Sports as quoted by Wisden, Nasser said that there was not much expectation from Australia as they missed their key players, including frontline pacers skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Sta...