England’s Champions Trophy campaign finally came to a brutal end when they were beaten by South Africa in Karachi by seven wickets with almost 21 overs to spare. After carrying out his post-match duties, Jos Buttler will no longer have to be on repeat to explain the latest defeat. Small mercies are welcome when the losses are this meek.
The match had echoes of the last meeting between the sides at the World Cup sixteen months ago which South Africa won by 229 runs. On this occasion, England managed 179 rather than 170 and lasted 38 overs compared to 22. If that sounds like a marginal positive, it isn’t. Heinrich Klaasen belted eleven fours in his 64 while Rassie van der Dussen embedded himself at the crease for an unbeaten 72 to chase down the target.
The mood music for Buttler’s final game as white-ball captain was downbeat from the beginning in front of a near-empty National Bank Cricket Arena. Only a monumental defeat could stop South Africa qualifying for the semifinals so there was a rather diffident air to proceedings. The Proteas didn’t even need to play at their best to dominate, although there were some outstanding catches in the field from Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi.
Any thoughts that England might pull together for one coherent performance in honor of Buttler soon dissipated when Phil Salt and Jamie Smith ballooned catches up in the air with mistimed pull shots. Already eliminated from the tournament after being beaten by Australia and Afghanistan, England were two down within three overs. The fast and loose philosophy was not going to hold water against a thoroughly professional South African unit.
There were English brain fades across the batting line-up with nothing left to play for but pride. “This is a good batting pitch but England are just not in the mood to be competitive,” said former Pakistan international Ramiz Raja on Sky Sports. This summed up the spirit level of Brendon McCullum’s team. They were there physically, but a sense of emptiness pervaded the air as well as the stadium.
Joe Root played beautifully for a bit and then played all around a straight ball. Liam Livingstone stumped himself with a horrible charge down the wicket. Ben Duckett, who has been one of the few positives, lunged at a wide ball to give a return catch to Marco Jansen. Harry Brook lost patience again. Staying in seems impossible for most of England’s Champions Trophy cast. There will be some actors who might not get another role after this latest thrashing.
Amid the carnage, Buttler was playing the straight man at the other end. Nudging and nurdling are not his bag, but he tried to be responsible, letting Jofra Archer do the shot making in a brief fightback. A decade ago, Peter Moores’ team were accused of playing cricket from the Jurassic Age that was too heavily reliant on keeping wickets in hand for the final overs. Under Buttler, England have been bowled out in 48 per cent of their matches.
When the skipper eventually tried to break free from his self-imposed restraint, he was caught at mid-off off Ngidi. His 21 off 43 balls consisted of no boundaries. This wasn’t the work of a liberated soul. The smile that Brendon McCullum wanted to see was not going to come when the captain openly admits he’s not enjoying his cricket.
The danger signals were already there from the warm-up whitewash in India just a few weeks ago where England were barely competitive. When it really mattered, this team are too soft. It’s a sorry state of affairs to put the worst foot forward in an international ICC tournament, but the hard truth cannot hide after so many public humiliations.
England’s personnel and leadership will change in the face of their eleventh defeat out of twelve in 2025. That is the easy part. A new vision, a new way of thinking and a different voice can talk with optimism after an endgame that is this bad. However, the deeper malaise will take some serious-minded action. England need to stop the bleeding and the bruising caused by this avalanche of reverses.
2025 will be all about the Ashes, a contest that started when English cricket “died at the Oval” on August 29, 1882. England’s white-ball team was buried on March 1, 2025. The obituary will not be kind.
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