Follow UsCurrently placed bottom of the 2023 World Cup table after 29 matches, England are all but knocked out of the Mega Event. However, the Three Lions are also at the risk of not qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Earlier today, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that outside hosts Pakistan, seven other teams that finish in the Top 8 of the ongoing World Cup will be making it to the Champions Trophy. However, currently placed tenth, England failing to make the cutoff for CT 2025 is now a realistic possibility, especially with the Three Lions having just three games left in their WC campaign.
In the aftermath of the 100-run defeat against India, skipper Jos Buttler admitted that his side still have ‘a lot to play for’ despite having little to no chance of making it to the semis.
“We are aware of that, we've still got lots to play for,” Buttler said of England’s qualification chances for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Any 100-run defeat is scathing but, on the day, England lost by a three-figure margin despite restricting India to 229 in the first innings. Buttler said that the defeat was a ‘very disappointing’ one, especially because 230 was a very chaseable target.
“Very disappointed. At the halfway stage, chasing 230, we would have fancied ourselves. Same old story. Very disappointed,” Buttler said.
England started off somewhat aggressively in the chase, racing to 30/0 inside the 5th over but then collapsed spectacularly. The next 4 wickets fell for just 9 runs, after which the England batters went into a shell.
Buttler said that nothing he and his side are trying to execute with the bat is working out at the moment.
“I think whichever way you want to go, you have to be committed. It's all about execution,” Buttler said, when asked if England were too defensive with the bat.
“We are just falling short whichever way we are doing it at the minute. Our answers on a postcard, I think. Some top players and we are a long way short of our best.”
But the skipper reserved praise for his bowlers, and said that his side were fantastic in the field. Buttler claimed that, on the day, his side produced their best bowling performance of the tournament.
“That's as good as we've been with the ball throughout the tournament. We created good pressure, we bowled well, took wickets. If you said we are chasing 230, we would have been happy with that,” the England skipper said.
England have a week off before their next clash, against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.