‘It’s probably time to…’: Former England cricketers go full guns-blazing on Jos Buttler after Champions Trophy collapse
jfn England team has had a disappointing performance in ICC events since they won the 2022 T20 World Cup. They had a bad outing in the 2023 ODI World Cup, followed by another poor show in T20 World Cup. There were high expectations from England for the 205 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, where the grounds were of significant help to the batters. However, they failed to secure a place in the semifinal following defeats to Australia and Afghanistan.
This below-par performance has invited lot of criticism for the team’s captain Jos Buttler, who is now on the verge of losing his captaincy. Former England cricketers Michel Atherton and Nasser Hussain also believe that it is time for Buttler to end his time as the skipper.
“I think his time is done as captain,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.
“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,” he added.
“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 through it – and now here, and their cricket is way below the standards which they set themselves,” he further said.
“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,” Atherton concluded.
Nasser Hussain also came in to speak on this topic and while making a comparison with World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, stated that Buttler does not have the presence that Morgan used to have.
“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,” Hussain said.
“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,” he added.
“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,” he concluded.
The England team faced defeats in both of the group-stage matches they have played so far. since they have lost two of the three matches given to them, the Jos Buttler-led side is now eliminated from the race to the semifinals. England team is still going to face South Africa as a dead rubber match on 1 March 2025 as their final group-stage match.
The post ‘It’s probably time to…’: Former England cricketers go full guns-blazing on Jos Buttler after Champions Trophy collapse appeared first on Cricket Country.