Online Reporter
JOS BUTTLER has resigned as England’s white-ball captain after their group-stage exit at the Champions Trophy, announcing that he will lead the side for the final time against South Africa in Karachi today.
England have already been eliminated from the Champions Trophy, after they lost their first two group games against Australia and Afghanistan.
They prepared for the tournament with a trip to India which saw them win only one of their eight matches in Brendon McCullum’s first tour as white-ball coach.
“I’m going to stand down as England captain,” Buttler said.
“It’s the right decision for me and the right decision for the team. Hopefully, somebody else can come in alongside Baz and take the team to where it needs to be,” he said.
Harry Brook, Buttler’s vice-captain, is the early favourite to replace him.
Buttler will continue to play for England, and said he wants to “get back to really enjoying my cricket”.
He said: “The overriding emotions are still sadness and disappointment.
“I’m sure, in time, that will pass and I can get back to really enjoying my cricket, and [will] also be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country and all the special things that come with it.”
Buttler was appointed as Eoin Morgan’s successor in June 2022 and won the T20 World Cup in Australia later that year.
But England’s results have declined sharply since and after three unsuccessful ICC events in a row – the 2023 50-over World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy – Buttler has decided to stand down.
He hinted after England’s eight-run loss to Afghanistan on Wednesday – their ninth defeat in 10 white-ball games this year – that he would resign, saying he needed to “consider all possibilities” and work out whether he was “part of the problem or part of the solution.”
“It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important: results-wise and for my captaincy,” Buttler said.
“Two losses and being out of the tournament [was] a bit of a hangover of tournaments before. I have just reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy, which is a shame and I’m sad about that.
“With Brendon coming in only recently, I was really excited to work closely alongside him and hope for a very quick turnaround and to take the team forward. But it’s not quite worked out that way, so just feels like the right time for me and the team to have a change.”
Buttler’s position came under increasing scrutiny after a sustained poor run of ODI form for England stretching back to the start of the 2023 World Cup.
In defence of their World Cup title, England won just three group games out of nine and were the first team to be officially eliminated from the tournament.
It began a run that has seen them lose 18 of the last 25 ODIs, including the two that put paid to their Champions Trophy campaign at the first hurdle.
While he will likely go down as England’s best white-ball batter, Buttler’s ODI form, like that of the side he led, had been on a sharp downturn over the last 18 months.
He averages 26.40 in his last 21 innings, with a strike rate of just over 100 – down from 115.97 over his ODI career.
He managed starts in each of the two games this Champions Trophy, coming into the middle order while England had a platform to build off, but got out for 23 off 21 and 38 off 42.
Brook is tipped to succeed him, though McCullum said England had not yet settled on a candidate.
He praised Buttler’s leadership while saying he was “incredibly sad” to see him step down. – Cricinfo
