England white-ball captain Jos Buttler is challenging himself asking whether he is “part of the problem or part of the solution” after his side crashed out of the Champions Trophy at the hands of Afghanistan.
England’s miserable white-ball winter reached its lowest ebb as they were eliminated following a nerve-shredding eight-run defeat to Afghanistan in Lahore.
Defeat to Australia in their Group B opener left England in must-win territory but they fell at the first hurdle, with the best efforts of Joe Root (120 off 111 balls) not enough to get them over the line as they were bowled out for 317 chasing 326 for victory.
A ninth defeat in 10 limited-overs matches since Brendon McCullum expanded his head coaching role last month leaves Buttler’s position vulnerable after yet another disappointing campaign at a major event, and he admitted all options were being considered over his position.
“It’s tough to say, stood here right now,” Buttler told Sky Sports. “I don’t want to make any emotional statements, but I think it’s fair to say we’ve got to consider all possibilities.
“I enjoy the challenge [of captaincy], I obviously don’t enjoy losing games of cricket. When the results are not going well you do look in the mirror and ask if I’m part of the problem or part of the solution. That is what we’ve got to work out.”
In his post-match press conference, Buttler was defiant when asked whether the pressure got to him.
He said: “I just missed a few balls early in my innings and got myself to nearly a run a ball. I got into a nice position again and just haven’t been converting those positions in the recent past into some of the innings I’ve played in an England shirt in the past.
“That’s obviously a frustration. I think at my best I I’m one of the best players in the world, that’s what the team needs from me and unfortunately I haven’t been delivering that.”
In the last 18 months, England have surrendered both World Cups and are on a dire run of form, especially in ODIs, with Buttler’s record now reading 22 defeats in 34 ODIs in permanent charge ahead of Saturday’s dead rubber against South Africa in Karachi.
After defeat to Afghanistan plunged his position into further jeopardy, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton were in agreement Buttler’s time as England white-ball captain was up.
“If you’re having to consider all options, that probably tells me the option is to let it go. That can be the most difficult thing to do,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“I thoroughly like Jos Buttler as a human being, he is a very likeable young man, he’s popular in the dressing room and everyone who has played the game with him, but it’s not his job to be popular, his job is to make England better at white ball cricket.
“If he’s saying there’s a lot of talent in the dressing room, and their win percentage has fallen off a cliff, and they’ve gone out in the group stages of the 50-over World Cup and Champions Trophy, and they’ve lost their last four bi-lateral series, and his form has diminished, I don’t think it [the captaincy] sits comfortably on his shoulders.
“I’ve never looked at Buttler and thought ‘wow what a leader,’ he doesn’t have that presence in the field that an Eoin Morgan had. That’s a bad comparison because you’re talking about England’s greatest-ever white-ball captain, and he was a hard act to follow.
“As far as captaincy goes, I don’t think Buttler has added that much to this England team, but it’s taken away from his batting. And when you add the two together, take away from a great player and you’re not gaining with leadership and captaincy, I think it’s probably time to move on.”
