Replacing Buttler as captain the sensible thing to do – Agnew

I have covered a lot of shambolic England exits at international tournaments, from 1999 at Edgbaston in their own tournament to the defeat of Bangladesh by Bangladesh in Adelaide in 2015.

The Champions Trophy defeat by Afghanistan on Wednesday ranks among those dark days of the past because it feels like the situation is at its worst and that things can never end.

England have disintegrated as a white-ball outfit since their two World Cup wins in 2019 (ODI) and 2022 (T20).

Because releasing Jos Buttler from the captaincy is the only sensible course of action, it is time to make another future plan.

Buttler has always been a very nice person whenever I’ve dealt with him. Even though he claims to enjoy the captaincy, the T20 World Cup victory in 2022 didn’t seem like a natural fit for him.

After being defeated on Wednesday, he told the media that he had to consider whether he was “part of the problem or the solution,” which he had said had his mind a little jumbled up. He has previously said that he should practice smiling in the mirror.

By the time the next 50-over World Cup in 2027 is held, Buttler will be 37.

There is no justification for him to leave the team until that point, especially if stepping down relieves him of his burden, makes him smile, and allows him to return to being the potent destructive batsman he can be.

To his credit, Buttler actually began this tournament with the correct message. He explained how his batters needed to learn to maneuver through gears and reverse them when necessary.

Only Ben Duckett and Joe Root, who were defeated by Australia and Joe Root in their 120 against Afghanistan, have demonstrated the ability to do so.

On Wednesday, Phil Salt and Jamie Smith both received horrifying dismissals.

Smith left me speechless, while Salt’s shot, which was a jerky cross the line to be bowled, was truly jaw-dropping. Although he impressed in his first nine Test starts since making his debut last summer, it is unfathomable why he is unable to explain his debut.

A good player should be able to get himself into a bucket-full of batting in the top three of a 50-over contest on flat batting grounds like these.

Smith’s poor shooting against Australia, which resulted in him being caught in mid-air and being later caught being caught swinging against Afghanistan, raises serious questions about whether he is the ideal candidate for the number three slot.

It was also the most recent instance of England’s excessive T20 mindset.

Take Jofra Archer, for example.

Although the pace is excellent, Azmatullah Omarzai demonstrated an accurate pace. England struggled to do this because he is not express and largely lacks the tricks, but he runs in hard, is accurate, and bowls to his field.

Although they largely chose their best players for this competition, Buttler and coach Brendon McCullum put all of their money in the pace department, swapping Jamie Overton for Brydon Carse in the second game and choosing Archer and Mark Wood over Jamie Wood.

Add to the fact that England has always been juggling their resources by selecting only four first-choice bowlers, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone, and it is obvious mistakes have been made.

The management must bear some of the blame for the lack of five competent bowlers in an ODI, but we come back to the fact that English cricket does not take 50-over cricket seriously.

The players are not used to playing the format, which is why they are unable to lay a platform while batting and to be inconsistent with the ball.

Because of the downgrading of the domestic competition [The One-Day Cup], which many key players won’t play in May and June against West Indies and South Africa in September will be covered in cotton wool for the Ashes, the next generation won’t be able to play it.

I don’t believe we will be surprised by these results until that changes.

As for Brook, he has had a poor start to 2025 with an average of 16.90 across 10 matches in 50 and 20-over cricket – but we know he can play.

Brook seems to be the most reliable of all the options for Buttler’s replacement. He has already done it before, as demonstrated by his previous five-match series against Australia in September.

Although we’re not sure how skilled a skipper he might be, camp members have rave reviews of his cricket skills. It’s difficult to tell if this England group is ever hyping each other up because of this.

Ultimately, it can only be shown by results and performances but, if Brook does take over, he will have a nice run up to 2027.