England‘s group-stage exit from the Champions Trophy may have repercussions on the team’s make-up in white-ball cricket, with captain Jos Buttler hoping to figure out if he still fits in the scheme of things for the progress of the national team after a disappointing run.
The narrow eight-run defeat against Afghanistan in Lahore on Wednesday was the second consecutive loss for England in the tournament, which put them out of the race to the semifinals. It was also England’s sixth straight defeat in ODIs, which included a 3-0 whitewash by India just before the Champions Trophy.
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England’s graph in ICC events has further dipped with a third consecutive early exit, following the ODI World Cup in India in 2023 and the T20 World Cup last year in the USA and the Caribbean islands. Incidentally, England had lost to Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well.
“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 said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
Chasing a daunting 326 to win, England were kept in the game by Joe Root’s century, but the chase fizzled out towards the end to finish at 317 all out. For Afghanistan, ‘Man of the Match’ Ibrahim Zadran starred with the bat, scoring 177, while Azamatullah Omarzai led the bowling attack with his 5 for 58.
“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.
England will take on South Africa in their concluding fixture of the tournament on Saturday.
“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 added.
“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.”
