Jos Buttler stands down as England’s white-ball captain after disastrous Champions Trophy
Buttler’s tenure as white-ball captain is at an end after a third successive tournament disappointment
Jos Buttler has stepped down as England’s white-ball captain after his side crashed out of the Champions Trophy.
Buttler will oversee his final fixture in the role against South Africa on Saturday with England unable to make the semi-finals after defeats to Australia and Afghanistan.
The wicketkeeper succeeded Eoin Morgan in 2022 and his tenure began brightly when he led his side to T20 World Cup triumph Down Under later that year.
But a disastrous World Cup campaign in 2023 has been followed by continued poor form across the two white-ball formats, with the installation of Brendon McCullum, already in charge of the Test team, as coach failing to spark England into life.
Buttler’s side have won just once this year, losing seven of eight matches on a tour of India that preceded this tournament, with questions repeatedly raised over the composition of their bowling attack and approach with the bat.
“It’s the right time for me and the team,” Buttler explained. “Hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside [Brendon McCullum] to take the team back to where it needs to be.
“This tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy. Two losses and being out of the tournament, with the hangover of a couple of tournaments before, I’ve reached the end of the road of my captaincy. It’s a shame, I’m sad about that. With Brendon coming in recently, I was excited to work closely alongside him and hoping for a quick turnaround to take the team forward. It’s not quite worked out that way.
“I feel like it is the right time for me and the team to have a change. The overriding emotions are still sadness and disappointment, but I’m sure in time that will pass, and I can get back to really enjoying my cricket.”
Buttler has captained England in 44 ODIs, with a record of 18 wins, 25 defeats and one no result ahead of the South Africa game. In T20s, England won 26 and lost 22 defeats of his 51 matches in charge, with three no results.
England’s decline in white-ball cricket began long before McCullum’s arrival in January from the highs reached under Morgan en route to a maiden World Cup win on home soil in 2019.
Their defence in 2023 was plagued with problems with an ageing side looking short on direction in a difficult campaign that placed both Buttler and then-coach Matthew Mott in peril.
Both survived through to last summer’s T20 World Cup, where a semi-final appearance was not enough to preserve Mott’s job.
McCullum was announced as his permanent replacement late last year and vowed to get Buttler smiling again, but the New Zealander has been unable to provide the impetus he gave the Test team on his arrival in 2022.
England will now search for a new captain in both ODIs and T20s, with Harry Brook shaping up as a leading contender.
The Yorkshire batter filled in for Buttler impressively against Australia at the end of last summer and has long been tipped as a future skipper, though there will be concerns about over-burdening a 26-year-old who is a key figure across formats.
Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone have also recently captained the side in Buttler’s absence, though the pair could yet come under pressure for their places after lean periods with the bat.
Ben Duckett also has captaincy experience in The Hundred and is an increasingly senior figure, while Sam Curran is an option from outside the current squad, with the all-rounder a curious omission from the Champions Trophy squad.
More wildcard solutions might include recalling James Vince - who boasts strong captaincy credentials in county cricket with Hampshire but has recently moved to Dubai, or offering a role to Joe Root, who was worn down by the role of Test captain but has never led the ODI side.
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