Jos Buttler speaks out on future as captain after Champions Trophy elimination
Jos Buttler says he must ‘consider the possibility’ of standing down as captain after England crashed out of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy at the earliest opportunity with an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan.
England required victory to remain in the competition and Joe Root rallied with the bat to gave his side a fighting chance, scoring a stunning 120, after Afghanistan had set a target of 326.
But Root was caught out with England needing 39 runs from 26 balls and Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid fell short at the death, with the latter dismissed off the penultimate ball.
England’s latest setback was their ninth loss in ten white-ball matches since the turn of the year. Buttler won the 2022 T20 World Cup in his first outing as captain but disappointing campaigns at the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup have seen the 34-year-old’s role as skipper called into question.
Having suffered a five-wicket defeat in their opening Champions Trophy contest with Australia, Buttler and Co will be playing for pride only in their final group game against South Africa on Saturday.
Asked if he had any idea what could be behind his own difficulties with the bat, Buttler told Sky Sports: ‘If I knew I probably wouldn’t playing the way I am.
‘I don’t feel far away, obviously, but at my best I’m one of the best players in the world and it’s disappointing if you’re not reaching that level.’
Pressed on whether he had any update on his future as captain, Buttler added: ‘I don’t want to say any emotional statements right now but I think for myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities.’
Buttler conceded that his side were some way from their best, though not helped by injuries to both Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone.
On the injury to Wood, Buttler said: ‘It was difficult and Livi went off the field at some point as well with his ankle, so credit to him for coming back on.
‘It was difficult, trying to marry up using our best resources to try and break the partnerships and restrict them that way but, obviously, knowing that we would have to fill in a few overs here and there.’
Buttler reserved special praise for Root after the batter notched an extraordinary century in vain in England’s unsuccessful chase.
‘He’s obviously been a brilliant player in all formats and his ODI record is outstanding,’ the England skipper added.
‘He played an unbelievable innings tonight, he showed a lot of character and the way to handle the pressure in a run chase.
‘If one of us in the top six could have really stayed with him for longer then I think we would have got home tonight.’
More to follow.
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