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'Arrogance Of English Cricket..' - Former England Cricketer Gives A Dressing Down After Another Early ICC Tournament Exit
Follow UsMark Butcher argued that the team's arrogance is the main reason behind their downfall
It’s been a horror few weeks for England cricket. At the start of this month, the Women’s team slipped to an embarrassing 16-0 defeat in the Ashes, losing every single match. And now the Men’s side have exited the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in the group stages to make it consecutive group stage exits in 50-over ICC tournaments.
That has led to many former cricketers coming forward to critique the team’s attitude, as they fail to learn from their mistakes and make the required changes to start winning matches once again.
The England Men have lost 14 out of their last 17 ODIs and have won just one international game this year. In the Champions Trophy, they were first dominated by Australia, as the team from Down Under chased down 352 with 15 deliveries remaining. They allowed a spirited Afghanistan to make 325/7 in 50 overs and lost the game by eight runs. With two losses out of their three games already, England are the first team from their group to be officially out of the tournament.
“I completely and utterly understand why everybody loves seeing England lose,” former England pacer Mark Butcher said on Wisden Cricket Patreon English Daily Podcast.
“The arrogance of English cricket to decide that after you strive for all that time to win a 50-over World Cup, and then within the next breath, you decide that it’s not important enough for your for your players to play.
“The arrogance in that and the comeuppance that has come around. There’s no wonder the crowd there are all supporting Afghanistan, whether they’re from Afghanistan or Pakistan, or wherever they are.”
Recently, former England women’s spinner Alexandra Hartley also echoed similar sentiments on BBC’s Test Match Special podcast.
“The arrogance of the England teams irritates me," said Hartley.
"They say 'we don't care about the result and we want to entertain', but people don't want to come and watch you if you lose all the time."