Last Updated:
England captain Jos Buttler considers whether he’s ‘part of the problem’ after the team’s group-stage exit in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Jos Buttler (Image: AP)
England captain Jos Buttler wants to introspect whether he’s ‘part of the problem’ or the ‘solution’ after his team’s group-stage exit in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Wednesday.
England lost to tournament debutants Afghanistan by eight runs at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore — their second consecutive defeat in the tournament after a five-wicket defeat to Australia. This meant, with one match against South Africa left, they could secure a maximum of two points from the group stage — which won’t be enough for a semi-final berth.
Since winning the 2022 T20 World Cup, this was England’s fourth-consecutive failure to reach an ICC tournament final. They exited from the group stage for the ICC Test Championship and the 2023 World Cup while losing to India in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“I think I’ve got to work out personally (whether) am I part of the problem or am I part of the solution,” a disappointed Buttler was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
“I think obviously the results aren’t where they need to be and I personally need to consider all possibilities. And like I said, obviously, we need to get us as a team back to where England cricket needs to be in the white-ball formats,” Buttler said.
Buttler, 34, hasn’t had a good tournament with the bat so far either. In a team full of top-order batters, he chose to shift to the middle-order and scored 38 runs in two matches. He hasn’t crossed the 100-run mark in an ODI series since the 2023 World Cup, where he put up 138 runs in nine matches.
Since the defeat to Afghanistan, England experts have called for an end to his time as the captain. But Buttler didn’t commit to any such decision after the match.
“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions right here, right now. You’re probably not the first people I’d discuss that with. And take a little bit of time to just work out personally what I think is right,” the England captain said. “Results are tough and they weigh heavy at times. And, of course, you want to be leading a winning team and we haven’t been that for a while now, so obviously that brings some difficult moments.”
- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan