England have crashed out of the Champions Trophy after defeat to Afghanistan, despite a heroic century by Joe Root.
The result will heap pressure on the leadership team of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Jos Buttler, with England having lost four ODI series in a row heading into the competition. While McCullum only took over at the start of 2025, England have won just one of 10 matches under his white-ball stewardship, with their defeats marked by a one-dimensional pace attack and wickets lost by batters playing aggressively early in their innings.
Both were features in the game against Afghanistan, with the Jonathan Trott-coached side triumphing in a classic encounter. While three wickets from Jofra Archer had the Asian side three down inside the powerplay, a marvellous 177 from Ibrahim Zadran, and contributions from the lower middle order dragged them up past 300.
Match 8, Afghanistan vs England
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In reply, Phil Salt and Jamie Smith perished playing attacking strokes early on, and while Joe Root played magnificently to register his first ODI century since the 2019 World Cup, he didn’t receive enough support to take England over the line. No one else passed 40, and while there was some fight from the tail, England fell eight runs short.
With no points from two games, and Australia and South Africa tied on three after their washout yesterday, England are now out of the Champions Trophy. It continues a rough streak under Buttler, whose tenure as white-ball captain began with a world crown in the 2022 T20 World Cup but has since contained two limp title defences and now an exit from another global event at the earliest possible opportunity.
Speaking after play, Buttler hinted he was thinking about stepping down as England white-ball captain, and that others in the dressing room would be considering their positions as well.
“I don’t want to say any emotional statements now, but I think for myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities,” Buttler said.
Jos Buttler sounds a man on the brink of resignation. "I don’t want to say any emotional statements now, but I think for myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities."
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) February 26, 2025
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