Former England coach and Sky pundit David Lloyd has criticised England's selection for the Champions Trophy following their early exit from the tournament, and said that he would have picked Jonny Bairstow, as well as promoted Joe Root to open.
Writing in his column for the MailOnline, Lloyd wrote that he was 'unsurprised' by England's disastrous campaign and that he 'would have put his house' on the 2019 World Champions losing to Afghanistan. England crashed out of the tournament after losing a nail-biting encounter against Afghanistan, having already lost heavily to Australia in their opening match of the tournament.
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The side have now lost 12 out of 16 of their ODIs since the 2023 World Cup, which they finished in seventh place. Questions have been raised over the future of Jos Buttler's white-ball captaincy following a third disappointing ICC tournament in a row, as well as the future of Brendon McCullum as head coach, and England's approach to domestic 50-over cricket.
Lloyd: Domestic 50-over cricket has been pushed aside
"I wouldn't be pointing it [the finger] at the players, the coaches, or anybody in charge," wrote Lloyd. "Because, like everybody else in the country, to pick that 50-over team you would be taking a punt and going on a whim as there's nothing to base it on. Our domestic 50-over competition, like the rest of county cricket, has been pushed aside to accommodate the Hundred, which has just had its pay day, which is all it was ever designed to do. The rest of the structure has been neglected, so what you see is what you get.
"Right now, England don’t have any of the components you need to be a successful one-day side. To start with, you must have six bowlers, not four and two make-dos... As for England’s batting, you need an opening partnership that is rock solid, such as Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy’s in 2019. I would have picked Bairstow in this squad because he has proven ability, is still a contracted player and he is 35. He’s not 90!"
"I would also have opened with Joe Root because I go back to Sachin Tendulkar, when he was the best player in one-day cricket. Where did he bat for India? No 1."
England’s early Champions Trophy exit against Afghanistan extends their poor ODI form since 2019.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 27, 2025
Could they now face a battle for the 2027 World Cup qualification? 🤔
Read here ➡️ https://t.co/mQQL2TK3A3 pic.twitter.com/3hIuvvqyrG
Root scored a century in England's loss to Afghanistan, batting at No.4 after Jamie Smith was promoted up the order for the tournament, which took them agonizingly close to a win. In his 176-match ODI career, Root has opened the batting once, scoring 100* against West Indies in the 2019 World Cup.
Bairstow last played for England in their semi-final in last year's T20 World Cup. He was dropped for their white-ball series' against Australia over the summer, and hasn't played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup. Although still a centrally contracted player, he has not been part of England squad's across formats for the last eight months.
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