State of Play
England’s sorry white-ball stint under Jos Buttler will come to an end tomorrow after he leads the side against South Africa in Karachi in their final game at the ICC Champions Trophy.
England’s defeat by Afghanistan on Wednesday meant another early elimination for a team that held both the ODI and T20 World Cups as recently as 2022.
It has been a swift and alarming descent and Buttler, who has overseen 22 defeats from 34 ODIs since replacing Eoin Morgan, admitted it is time for change.
He said “This is the right decision for me and it’s the right decision for the team. Hopefully someone else can come in and work closely alongside Baz (McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be.
“It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important, results-wise for my captaincy. Two losses and being out of the tournament with a bit of a hangover from tournaments before, I think I just probably reached the end of the road for my captaincy, which is a shame. I am sad about that.
“With Brendon coming in only recently, I was really excited to work alongside him and to hope for a very quick turnaround and to take the team forward. It has not quite turned out that way. It just feels like it’s the right time for me and the team to have a change.
“My over-riding emotions are sadness and disappointment. I’m sure in time that will pass and I can get back to enjoying my cricket. I’ll be able to reflect on what an immense honour that it is to captain your country and the things that come with that.”
Yorkshire’s Harry Brook, the current vice-captain, is favourite to step up.
Defeat in Lahore.
A thrilling run chase but we can’t get over the line. pic.twitter.com/gOsBUQRhq2
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 26, 2025
None of this will be of any interest to South Africa, who have their own issues to deal with as they look to secure one of the top two positions in Group B and a semi-final spot.
The Proteas crushed Afghanistan in their opener, winning by 107 runs, before their clash with Australia was washed out without a ball being bowled.
That has left the group wide open with three teams fighting for two spots.
There are a multitude of scenarios but the bottom line for South Africa is they will be through with a win.
Veteran batter Rassie van der Dussen says the team had earmarked this game as a must-win from the outset and they won’t be taking England lightly despite their poor form.
He said: “We were always coming into this match saying that it will possibly be a quarter-final type of situation. Whoever wins that will go through.
“A little bit changes for them because they can’t go through anymore but for us, it’s a match against England. We don’t need any extra motivation to play England.”
Rassie gears up in style with an explosively exciting session of football 😄🇿🇦💪🔥.
Getting ready for the final action of the group stage against England, by playing a little footie 😄🏏🏆🌎.#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/vL2yCfYyWV
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 28, 2025
Team News
England could hand opportunities to several squad players with qualification no longer possible.
Their plan to blow teams away with all-out pace has backfired spectacularly and Jofra Archer and Mark Wood could be left out with Gus Atkinson and Rehan Ahmed drafted in.
Heinrich Klaasen could return for South Africa, bolstering their middle-order.
Expected line-ups
England: Salt, Duckett, Smith (wk), Root, Brook, Buttler (c), Livingstone, Overton, Atkinson, Rashid, Ahmed
South Africa: Rickelton (wk), Bavuma (c), Van der Dussen, Markram, Klaasen, Miller, Mulder, Jansen, Maharaj, Rabada, Ngidi
How to Watch
The ICC Champions Trophy can be watched in the UK on Sky Sports. Saturday’s coverage starts on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket at 0830.
In India, it is being shown on the JioStar network with JioHotstar providing live streaming. On television, in addition to the English feed, coverage will also be available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada across Star Sports and Sports18 channels.
Prediction
England are a demoralised mess and it’s hard not to see South Africa taking full advantage, especially as they have so much to play for.
The Proteas have an abundance of big-hitters in the middle-order and a nice mix in their bowling attack with the pace of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi complemented by the spin of Keshav Maharaj.
We think they’ll have too much for England.
