- England has lost six consecutive ODI matches. Five of these matches were played on Asian soil. The English team has failed to understand the condition here. Its batsmen were neither able to play the spinners properly nor did they show the right intent against the fast bowlers.
Champions Trophy:
The English team is completely out of the race for the semi-finals in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. In the match played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 26 February (Wednesday), England had to face defeat by 8 runs at the hands of Afghanistan. Before that, the English team had to face defeat by 5 wickets at the hands of Australia. Now even if the Butler Brigade wins against South Africa, it will not be able to reach the semi-finals.
This happened for the first time since 2009
If we look at it, the English team has lost six consecutive matches in ODIs. This is the first time since September 2009 that England has lost six consecutive ODI matches. England’s losing streak started in November 2024, when it suffered an eight-wicket defeat against hosts West Indies in the Bridgetown ODI.
Three teams are locked in a battle to claim the #ChampionsTrophy semi-final spots from Group B 👊
— ICC (@ICC) February 27, 2025
How things stand ⬇️https://t.co/OZxK1j44Gw
After this, the English team had to face whitewash in the three-match ODI series on Indian soil. In the Nagpur ODI, England had to face defeat at the hands of India by four wickets. Then the English team faced the same fate in Cuttack and Ahmedabad. India won the Cuttack ODI by 4 wickets and the Ahmedabad ODI by 142 runs.
If we look at the six ODI matches that England has lost, five of them were played on Asian soil. The English team has failed to understand the Asian conditions and it looks like a very weak team. Its batsmen were neither able to play the spinners properly nor did they show the right intent against the fast bowlers. Bowling has proved to be England’s weakest link and its bowlers are giving away a lot of runs. The Australian team had chased a target of 352 runs against England.
English giants raised questions
After the poor performance in the Champions Trophy, the English team and captain Jos Buttler are being heavily criticized. Former captain Michael Atherton believes that Buttler should now leave the captaincy. Atherton said, ‘I think his time as captain is over. England evaluates itself based on ICC events, he has made this very clear. Sometimes you have to say that it is not working and hence the time has come for a change.’
Former captain Nasser Hussain also expressed a similar opinion. Hussain said, ‘I never thought Butler was a great captain after seeing him. He does not have the presence on the field that Eoin Morgan had. Comparing Butler and Morgan is not fair. As far as captaincy is concerned, I do not think Butler has added anything special to this England team, but it has led to a decline in their batting.’
England’s performance ( in the last 6 ODIs)
Los by 8 wickets vs West Indies, Bridgetown
Loss by 4 wickets v India, Nagpur
Loss by 4 wickets v India, Cuttack
Loss by 142 runs v India, Ahmedabad
Loss by 5 wickets v Australia, Lahore
Loss by 8 runs v Afghanistan, Lahore