Muddled selection, fading stars, a lack of familiarity with the format – and no easy answers for either the ECB or Brendon McCullum
Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Feb-20252:16
Buttler: Have to work out whether I’m part of the problem or solution
When Brendon McCullum promised entertainment from England’s white-ball sides, he probably did not envisage this: with England on the wrong side of the two best games at the Champions Trophy so far, down and out with a match to spare, as the rest of the cricketing world laughs. Brought in to sprinkle some of his Test magic on the limited-overs set-up, the talismanic head coach has lost nine of his first 10 matches at the helm.The smile McCullum promised to bring back to Jos Buttler’s face, which the England captain had been practising in the mirror, is not just upside down but on the floor. Buttler spoke disconsolately of his future at the Gaddafi Stadium, an acceptance that this must surely be the end of his tenure. Saturday’s final Group B fixture against South Africa may well be his last ODI.It is clear both McCullum and Buttler have their share of blame to take from this third successive failure at a white-ball tournament. Most of it is collective, centering around the composition of the squad and the XI.Two enforced changes through injury highlighted muddled thinking around the initial 15. Tom Banton, a keeper-batter, was brought in for Jacob Bethell, a batter who bowls left-arm spin. Leggie Rehan Ahmed replaced seam-bowling allrounder Brydon Carse. As for the starters, a batting line-up that looked handy on paper did not produce on grass (two 300-plus totals notwithstanding). And a pace-heavy but ultimately one-dimensional bowling attack came unstuck for both a lack of variety against Australia and brittleness against Afghanistan.Related
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Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. On Wednesday, Mark Wood, who was carrying an issue with his left knee into the new year, succumbed to it in worrying fashion. Buttler, who had come into the match seeking 10 overs outside his four frontline bowlers, was forced to pick up the pieces and find a few more. Afghanistan duly blitzed 113 from their final 10 overs.McCullum will have his own sifting to do through the rubble of England’s white-ball dynasty – one which, it should be remembered, won World Cups in both limited-overs formats. There will also be uncertainty over how Wood and Carse (returning home with a toe injury) might be restricted for Test assignments against India and Australia.Rob Key has a part in all this, of course. The managing director of men’s cricket took the blame for the failure at the 2023 ODI World Cup, citing the focus on Test cricket at the white-ball game’s expense. He subsequently promoted the drive to have the same players – and notably quicks – across all formats, which has backfired. As for the decision to give McCullum the keys to all three teams, time will tell how that pans out. McCullum’s newly extended deal will take him through two more ICC events and two Ashes, which already feel like competing interests.And what of Harry Brook? The likeliest successor to the captaincy, as the incumbent vice, happens to be England’s busiest cricketer, with the most appearances (89) across all formats since his Test debut in September 2022. With Brook’s white-ball returns trending the wrong way, and blockbuster Test series on the horizon, captaincy would be a risk at a critical juncture in his career. It might have to be taken anyway.Follow the leader: Rob Key may have a tough decision to make on the captaincy•Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty ImagesCloser alignment across all teams was supposed to bring clarity. But everywhere you turn there is collateral damage.Buttler should be considered an unfortunate part of that collateral, never mind his shortcomings as a captain. That the greatest white-ball cricketer England have ever produced was left wondering if he was “part of the problem” was a jarring moment that demanded everyone take stock. A global star has been dulled into confronting his own mortality. Truth is, the problems extend beyond his tactical shortcomings and run deeper than his lack of a poker face.The fall since the 2019 World Cup success has been sharp. And though large parts of that 2015-2019 machine under Eoin Morgan carried through on fumes to 2022’s T20 World Cup glory, the paint job was chipping and the chains were starting to rust.It is hard to pinpoint a specific reason for the decline, particularly in ODIs, with 18 defeats in 25 since 2023’s dismal title defence. But there are a few, and most pertain to shifts within English cricket beyond the control of those who have failed so spectacularly over the last 18 months.There is no longer a meaningful List A county competition because the Hundred clashes with the One-Day Cup by design. The 50-over fundamentals ingrained in the 2015-19 crop were learned in a class that simply does not exist anymore. It was willfully naive – bordering on arrogant – to assume this would simply be passed down to the next generation without any meaningful exposure to the format.Brook won the first of 24 ODI caps in 2023, four years after his last List A appearance for Yorkshire. Jamie Smith, promoted to No. 3 for the Champions Trophy, had only ever batted there once in 50-over cricket. Banton’s appearance against India earlier this month was his first List A match since he featured against Ireland during the 2020 Covid summer.Phil Salt may well be the clearest example of the “knowledge gap” all are struggling to bridge. He has only faced more than 30 balls in five out of 30 ODI innings, and only once in his 19 against sides at this Champions Trophy. Encouraged to play his natural game, his returns reflect that of an established T20 opener trying (and failing) to make his mark on a bigger canvas.T20 cricket has had more far-reaching consequences than simply the returns of one powerplay thrasher. The format’s proliferation through global franchise tournaments has made it as lucrative for boards as players, whether trying to create their own or ensuring it appears regularly in the itinerary. There is a reason the ECB and BCCI agreed on a schedule that featured five T20Is and just three ODIs ahead of this Champions Trophy.
“The last two ICC one-day tournaments have highlighted contrasts between ODI cricket and T20 that are far greater than popular wisdom within the ECB had assumed”
The pull of T20 has pushed ODIs to the bottom of the list as far as broadcasters are concerned. Much of that is to do with the fact teams like England regard them as a nuisance set against their main interests, which in this case is Test cricket.Only five members of the Champions Trophy squad featured on England’s November tour to the Caribbean, what with it being sandwiched between Tests in Pakistan and New Zealand. It followed a broader pattern of second-string squads for bilateral ODI series.The warning signs were there even in the afterglow of the 2022 T20 World Cup success. A ludicrously scheduled three-match one-day series against Australia began four days after the final, leading into a rearranged tour after Christmas against Bangladesh.The vibe of the 2022 Australia tour was off – not helped by a 3-0 pasting – and many of those without central contracts went on to make themselves unavailable for Bangladesh. Given the clash with a two-Test tour of New Zealand, the ECB needed to make up the numbers and several more-senior players who previously waited patiently for their opportunities took a stand. The underlying sentiment was they would be doing the board a favour without furthering their international cases in any meaningful way. Limited-overs caps were quickly being devalued. As one player put it recently, the pride in the ODI shirt disappeared when it became a box-ticking exercise. If the ECB shows the format no love, why should the players?That sentiment won’t sit well with fans, particularly when so many cricketers chase the franchise coin. Many of the players who spurned that Bangladesh tour, such as Alex Hales, Sam Billings and Liam Dawson, took up lucrative gigs at the PSL instead. Now, what depth there is in white-ball cricket is used to prop up an array of different leagues – particularly the ILT20 and Abu Dhabi T10 – rather than the national team.It will be tempting to cry “mercenary” at this point, but these are different times. What undoubted loyalty and commitment to the cause there was between 2015 and 2019 was helped by fewer franchise distractions.The IPL regularly shunned English talent, partly due to the ECB’s reticence to make their players available for the entire season given the clash with the home summer. It was only in 2018 that a significant number of the 2015-19 core were picked up. Even that came with strict caveats when it came to international duty, and prevented them from being mainstays at those franchises.English talent features regularly in T20 leagues around the world•PCBIt is worth remembering the upshot from the Bangladesh tour was discussions at the ECB about upping match fees to make playing for your country more lucrative. That never came to pass, with more money pumped into the central contracts instead.The IPL is now the only competition which overlaps with the summer where players are granted an automatic No-Objection Certificate to participate, regardless of their red-ball commitments. Even those further down the chain are permitted to take up deals in the winter at the expense of developmental tours. The recent Lions trip to Australia at the start of the year, led by Andrew Flintoff, was noticeably less-experienced than previous squads because of the clash with the ILT20 and SA20.That brings us to another important factor. Because the knock-on effect of the huge financial shifts has been an intriguing societal phenomenon – a missing generation of players between the ages of 27 to 32. English cricket’s own “yuppie” class, seemingly removed from the pyramid like a Jenga block.England’s 2019 World Cup winning group had 12 in this bracket. This Champions Trophy group has seven, of which only Ben Duckett and Jofra Archer had any worthwhile 50-over experience.Even beyond the squad, the gap is noticeable. Can you, reader, name another top-six batter capable of pacing an ODI innings, a seamer who has the craft to operate in three phases of the innings, or a balancing allrounder who would have guaranteed England a better chance? The most popular answers – Sam Hain, Luke Wood (both 29), Sam Curran (26) – carry their own uncertainties.The only clear answer as an improvement to the squad is Dawson, though his patience with the current management group has long gone. The Hampshire allrounder recently revealed he had been told by England men’s selector Luke Wright that he was going to be picked in the 2023 World Cup squad. The next day, he received a call informing him he had not made the cut.So, what now? The good news is England will be fine in T20Is, as they have been. But the last two ICC one-day tournaments have highlighted contrasts between the formats that are far greater than popular wisdom within the ECB had assumed. Making up those differences requires actual change – none straightforward, some improbable.The One-Day Cup will only fade further into the background as the newly monied Hundred flexes further – unless counties take the initiative to rejig the schedule and move it to the beginning of the season to prevent a clash from 2026 onwards. New Hundred owners would be amenable to clearer real estate in the calendar, and counties get something more to offer their members. Longer term, everybody wins.Of course, franchise competitions will continue to offer players lucrative alternatives to international cricket. And the 50-over format will not suddenly enjoy a resurgence in context, certainly not while McCullum’s focus is primarily on the Test side. Just as red ball performances suffered during the 2015-19 cycle, the white will continue to be an afterthought with priorities flipped.At least until the next 50-over tournament rolls around. By then, if English cricket is lucky, the 2027 ODI World Cup will be part of a redemption arc that will start with next year’s T20 World Cup.For now, the first steps towards that rest with a coach who may have bitten off more than he can chew, and a captain who has had enough.