Brendon McCullum “has got his hands full” with England following his team’s disappointing Champions Trophy exit against Afghanistan, believes Michael Atherton.
England suffered an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan on Wednesday as they fell short of a target of 326 to win, despite Joe Root’s stylish 120 from 11 deliveries in Lahore.
Opener Ibrahim Zadran starred with 177 from 146 balls for the victors, while fast bowler Azmatullah Omarzai took five wickets for 58 runs.
It is not long since England were double world champions in white-ball cricket, but things have fallen away badly with a string of tournament failures.
Their efforts at the 50-over World Cup in 2023 amounted to little more than a joyless trudge around India and they were only marginally better in last year’s T20 tournament before being thrashed in the semi-finals.
They needed to fire here to show they could bring the good times back, but back-to-back defeats and a swift flight home merely confirms their limited-overs game is in a nosedive.
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Highlights of England’s defeat to Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy in Lahore
Atherton: England have regressed
“England have regressed,” Atherton told Sky Sports. “It’s a lesson in sport, when you take your eye off the ball, it’s difficult to drag it back and there’s all kinds of reasons for that.
“It hasn’t looked a team that is in full working order. We’ve looked one-dimensional. There’s a lot of batters not quite clicking and that’s hurting England.
“Not enough batters are in prime touch, we saw brilliant innings from Root and [Ben] Duckett but there are some where it’s not quite clicking – [Phil] Salt, [Harry] Brook more recently – and that’s hurting England.
“I think McCullum has got his hands full. I’m not entirely sure I would have united the roles, there will always be one format where you won’t be doing well.
“If things go badly here, he will lose some of that magic dust. He’s got a real challenge on his hands.”
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England’s Adil Rashid looked to go big on the second to last ball of the game but was caught by Ibrahim Zadran as Afghanistan secured a dramatic eight-run victory
‘England talented, Afghanistan smart’
Nasser Hussain has hailed the progress of Afghanistan in comparison to rival nations as they piled more pressure on to England skipper Jos Buttler.
“This England sometimes don’t do the right thing at the right time,” said Hussain.
“With Joe Root at the other end, stay with him and take the game deep, England very rarely take the game deep. They’re talented but not smart. Afghanistan were smart, they lost early wickets but put on a par score.
“Pakistan and Bangladesh should be looking at Afghanistan and ask why they have stagnated. Bangladesh are playing the same cricket they were 15 years ago. This Afghanistan side have gone from division five to playing some of the best cricket.”
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Buttler reflects on England’s loss to Afghanistan and their elimination from the Champions Trophy
‘One-dimensional’ England can have no complaints
Speaking after the game, Hussain focused on England’s increasingly one-dimensional bowling attack.
With left-arm options such as Sam Curran and Reece Topley overlooked in favour of a plethora of right-arm seamers, England’s lack of variation left spinner Adil Rashid once again shouldering the responsibility of bowling the opposition out.
It contributed to the overall decline of McCullum’s side, who Hussain argued have been off the pace for a significant period of time, with their campaign set to come to a close when they take on South Africa in Karachi on Saturday.
“It’s another ICC event that they’ve been poor in, and their win percentage since the last World Cup going into this was 29 per cent – so it has obviously dropped further from there,” said Hussain.
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Buttler was quizzed on his future as skipper and revealed he is considering all possibilities
“England can have no complaints, they haven’t played particularly good white-ball cricket for a very long time.
“They found a pitch that you’d think was absolutely perfect to play Afghanistan on – it didn’t help their spinners at all – but Afghanistan had more variety to their attack, they had wrist spinners, a left-arm wrist spinner, a left-arm quick.
“England were one-dimensional; Adil Rashid has carried the attack for far too long. They had batters getting in, getting out, other than Root, who is world-class in every format.
“Just not good enough from England, not good enough. Way off, and not just way off here – way off for a long time.”
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 – results and fixtures 🏏
Group A
Group B
Semi-finals
- March 4: Semi-final – A1 v B2 (Dubai)
- March 5: Semi-final 2 – A2 v B1 (Lahore)
Final
- March 9: Final (Lahore or Dubai)
Watch every match from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, up to and including the final on March 9, live on Sky Sports, or stream with NOW.
