England white-ball captain Jos Buttler is considering whether he is “part of the problem or part of the solution” after his side crashed out of the Champions Trophy at the hands of Afghanistan.
England’s miserable white-ball winter reached its lowest ebb as they were eliminated following a nerve-shredding eight-run defeat to Afghanistan in Lahore.
Defeat to Australia in their Group B opener left England in must-win territory but they fell at the first hurdle, with the best efforts of Joe Root (120 off 111 balls) not enough to get them over the line as they were bowled out for 317 chasing 326 for victory.
A ninth defeat in 10 limited-overs matches since Brendon McCullum expanded his head coaching role last month leaves Buttler’s position vulnerable after yet another disappointing campaign at a major event, and he admitted all options were being considered over his position.
“It’s tough to say, stood here right now,” Buttler told Sky Sports. “I don’t want to make any emotional statements, but I think it’s fair to say we’ve got to consider all possibilities.
“I enjoy the challenge [of captaincy], I obviously don’t enjoy losing games of cricket. When the results are not going well you do look in the mirror and ask if I’m part of the problem or part of the solution. That is what we’ve got to work out.”
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Highlights of England up against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy in Lahore.
‘Captaincy doesn’t sit comfortably on Buttler’s shoulders’
In the last 18 months, England have surrendered both World Cups and are on a dire run of form, especially in ODIs, with Buttler’s record now reading 22 defeats in 34 ODIs in permanent charge ahead of Saturday’s dead rubber against South Africa in Karachi.
After defeat to Afghanistan plunged his position into further jeopardy, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton were in agreement Buttler’s time as England white-ball captain was up.
“If you’re having to consider all options, that probably tells me the option is to let it go. That can be the most difficult thing to do,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“I thoroughly like Jos Buttler as a human being, he is a very likeable young man, he’s popular in the dressing room and everyone who has played the game with him, but it’s not his job to be popular, his job is to make England better at white ball cricket.
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Nasser Hussain believes that it’s time for Jos Buttler to leave the role as England captain after they were knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy.
“If he’s saying there’s a lot of talent in the dressing room, and their win percentage has fallen off a cliff, and they’ve gone out in the group stages of the 50-over World Cup and Champions Trophy, and they’ve lost their last four bi-lateral series, and his form has diminished, I don’t think it [the captaincy] sits comfortably on his shoulders.
“I’ve never looked at Buttler and thought ‘wow what a leader,’ he doesn’t have that presence in the field that an Eoin Morgan had. That’s a bad comparison because you’re talking about England’s greatest-ever white-ball captain, and he was a hard act to follow.
“As far as captaincy goes, I don’t think Buttler has added that much to this England team, but it’s taken away from his batting. And when you add the two together, take away from a great player and you’re not gaining with leadership and captaincy, I think it’s probably time to move on.”
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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.
Athers: Buttler done as captain, England have regressed
Atherton added: “I think his time is done, actually, as captain and I think that’s probably right.
“England do judge themselves on these ICC events, they’ve made that very clear, that because they come along so frequently now, they build towards these tournaments.
“But England have had three bad ones in a row now, the disastrous 50-over World Cup in India, a poor T20 World Cup in the Caribbean – where they made the semis but they didn’t beat anybody of note though it – and now here, and their cricket is way below the standards which they set themselves.
“Sometimes you just have to say it’s not working and therefore it’s time for a change and time for somebody else, and I think deep down, he probably knows that.”
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Harry Brook gifted Afghanistan a wicket after hitting the ball right back to bowler Mohammad Nabi.
Brook leading candidate to replace Buttler?
Asked who could replace Buttler should he step down, Atherton identified Harry Brook among the leading candidates.
“Just thinking about it, there isn’t that much choice,” he said.
“Harry Brook did it quite well, I thought, in the Australia series, the 50-over series that ended the summer, and it’s hard to think beyond him.
“He’s very young and inexperienced in ODI cricket but maybe it’s a chance to build something with McCullum.”
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.
