If someone was to predict England’s performance in Champions Trophy 2025, based on their 0-3 loss to India in the previous ODI series, they would have not given them a chance to progress. And that is exactly what has happened to Jos Buttler‘s team, who finished last in Group B, after loss to South Africa by seven wickets on Saturday.
In Buttler’s last game as skipper, England could only score 179 runs, and South Africa chased that with utmost ease. In short, all the players failed, big time. Now, it is time to rate their performances individually.
Jos Buttler Deserves Not More Than 2/10
If one of was to start by rating Buttler’s tenure as ODI captain, it was poor. The team had last won and ODI series vs Ireland in 2023. Post that, they have largely struggled in the format. In the six ODIs this year he only averages 29. As far as CT 2025 is concerned, he came up with scores of 23, 38 and 21. Not good enough from him.
Ben Duckett & Joe Root Stars Again, Score 9/10
Ben Duckett at the top of the order, and Root at No. 3 were the only reasons that England could go beyond 300 twice in the tournament. The southpaw scored 165 vs Australia, and followed that up with a 38 vs Afghanistan. He even scores his runs at a decent pace, which is a big plus. On the other hand, Joe Root scored 68 and 120 in the tournament — and was pleasing on the eye.
Phil Salt & Jamie Smith Poor, Get 1/10
Not much value was added to England’s batting line-up by Phil Salt and Jamie Smith. And that was reflective in their last match vs South Africa, where even Duckett and Root couldn’t save the team. Salt scored 10, 12 and 8 in three matches, while Smith scored 15, 9, and 0.
Harry Brook & Liam Livingstone Crumble Under Pressure 2.5/10
While many feel that Harry Brook might be the new England skipper, this CT 2025, he gave reasons why the ECB should shy away from doing so. Brook looked under utmost pressure and failed. He managed scores of 3, 25, and 19 only. Livingstone was poorer with 14, 10, and 9.
What’s Wrong with Jofra Archer & Mark Wood 3/10
Both Wood and Archer were utmost expensive in the tournament. While the latter did return with five wickets overall, Wood just managed to pick up one, and picked up/aggravated an injury. Perhaps it is time for England to move on from these two. Similar was the story with Jamie Overton, who did not play all games, but was rather unimpressive in the two he played.
Adil Rashid Ineffective, Still Best Bowler 5/10
What was heartening to see was, his economy rates remained under 6 in all the three matches. But he failed to garner any support from the other bowlers in the team. He just has three wickets to show against his name, but he bowled much better than that. He would have wanted to close that game vs Afghanistan with the bat, but couldn’t.
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