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England ODI captain Jos Buttler says it’s time for the team to introspect after another early exit from an ICC tournament.
Mike Atherton (left) asked tough question to Jos Buttler. (Screengrab/JioHotstar)
England captain Jos Buttler was in for a tough night of questioning after his team’s elimination from the semifinals race of the Champions Trophy 2025. Afghanistan secured a close eight-run win over the former world champions in Lahore to send them packing.
Wednesday night’s result was the latest early exit for England in an ICC tournament after the 2023 ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup last year. The defeat was also England’s seventh straight in ODIs under Buttler’s captaincy.
England allowed Afghanistan to recover from 37/3 and post 325/7 at the Gaddafi Stadium. And despite a century from Joe Root, were bowled out for 317 in 49.5 overs.
During the post-match presentation, Mike Atherton unleashed a wave of tough questions at Buttler ranging from the team’s dipping performances in ICC tournament’s to the England captain’s own form.
“England judge themselves on ICC events. That’s the third poor one on the trot now. So where does that leave your captaincy?” Atherton asked.
Buttler replied, “I don’t want to make any emotional statements now. Obviously, for myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities.”
During the post-match interaction with the media, Buttler was asked about the future of his captaincy.
“I think I’ve got to work out personally am I part of the problem or am I part of the solution?” Buttler said.
“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,” he added.
Buttler’s own form with the bat has been under scrutiny but he won’t take any knee-jerk action after England’s latest failure.
“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,” Buttler 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,” he added.
- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan
