Brendon McCullum’s tenure as England’s white-ball coach has faltered, with the team facing nine losses in ten matches, leading to early elimination from the Champions Trophy. Captain Jos Buttler’s future is uncertain amid this disappointment, while both he and McCullum share responsibility for squad selection failures. Injuries have further complicated matters, exposing a lack of depth and experience. The decline in performance since the 2019 World Cup can be attributed to changes in cricket priorities, with T20 leagues overshadowing ODIs and diminishing player loyalty to national duty. To revive white-ball cricket, decisive changes in structure and commitment are essential.
It’s evident that both McCullum and Buttler share the blame for this trilogy of failures in white-ball tournaments. Much of the responsibility is collective, revolving around the squad and eleven selections.
Two injury-related changes introduced confusion regarding the original 15. Tom Banton, a keeper-batter, replaced Jacob Bethell, a batter who can bowl left-arm spin, while leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed came in for seam-bowling allrounder Brydon Carse. As for the lineup, a batting order that seemed solid on paper failed to deliver on the field (two 300-plus totals notwithstanding), while a pace-laden yet ultimately one-dimensional bowling attack faltered against Australia due to a lack of variation and against Afghanistan due to fragility.
Everything that could go wrong, indeed did go wrong. On Wednesday, Mark Wood, who had been dealing with a left knee issue since the start of the year, aggravated it in a concerning fashion. Buttler had approached the match hoping to manage ten overs outside of his four main bowlers; instead, he had to scramble for extra resources as Afghanistan blitzed 113 runs in their final ten overs.
McCullum now faces the challenge of sorting through the wreckage of England’s white-ball legacy—a dynasty that, it’s crucial to remember, clinched World Cups in both formats. Questions loom about how Wood and Carse (heading home with a toe injury) will fare in Test matches against India and Australia.
Rob Key has a role to play in this, of course. The managing director of men’s cricket accepted the blame for the shortcomings at the 2023 ODI World Cup, citing a focus on Test cricket that neglected the white-ball game. Subsequently, he promoted a strategy of utilizing the same seam bowlers across formats, which has backfired. Time will determine how the decision to grant McCullum oversight in both formats unfolds. McCullum’s newly extended contract will see him through two additional ICC events and two more Ashes series, which already seem like competing objectives.
Greater alignment across all teams was intended to bring clarity. However, everywhere we look, there’s collateral damage.
Buttler should be viewed as an unfortunate casualty of this collateral damage, irrespective of his shortcomings as a captain. The fact that the finest white-ball cricketer England has ever produced questioned if he was “part of the problem” was a disconcerting moment that prompted everyone to re-evaluate. A global star has been dulled, confronted by his own limitations. The reality is, the issues transcend his tactical deficiencies and run deeper than his inability to maintain a neutral expression.
The decline since the 2019 World Cup victory has been sharp. While many elements of the 2015-2019 powerhouse under Eoin Morgan carried over, propelled by past momentum into the T20 World Cup success of 2022, signs of deterioration were evident.
Identifying a specific cause for the decline, particularly in ODIs—with 18 losses in 25 games since the disappointing title defense in 2023—proves challenging. However, several factors pertain to developments within English cricket that have escaped the control of those who have dramatically underperformed over the past 18 months.
A meaningful List A county competition is absent due to the design clash between the Hundred and the One-Day Cup. The core 50-over principles that were instilled in the 2015-19 squad have not been passed down effectively to the subsequent generation, which is dangerously naive—leaning towards arrogance—to assume this knowledge would be seamlessly inherited without relevant exposure to the format.
Brook earned his first of 24 ODI caps in 2023, four years after his last List A appearance for Yorkshire. Jamie Smith, who was elevated to No. 3 for the Champions Trophy, had only batted there once in 50-over cricket prior. Banton’s participation against India this month was his first List A match since he played against Ireland during the summer of 2020.
The rise of T20 cricket has had ramifications that extend far beyond the performance of a single power hitter. The abundance of global franchise tournaments has made T20 as financially appealing to boards as it is to players, whether in terms of establishing their own leagues or ensuring it features regularly on the schedule. This is why the ECB and BCCI agreed on a schedule that included five T20Is and only three ODIs before this Champions Trophy.
“The last two ICC one-day tournaments have highlighted contrasts between ODI cricket and T20 that are far greater than popular wisdom within the ECB had assumed”
The allure of T20 has relegated ODIs to the bottom tier for broadcasters. Much of this stems from the fact that teams like England see ODIs as a hindrance in light of their primary focus, which is Test cricket.
Only five members of the Champions Trophy squad took part in England’s tour of the Caribbean last November, as it was sandwiched between Tests in Pakistan and New Zealand. This trend has been consistent, with second-string squads making appearances for bilateral ODI series.
The signs of trouble were apparent even amidst the celebrations following the 2022 T20 World Cup victory. An absurdly scheduled three-match ODI series against Australia commenced just four days post-final, leading into a rearranged tour of Bangladesh after Christmas.
The atmosphere during the 2022 Australia tour was off—compounded by a 3-0 thrashing—and many players without central contracts subsequently opted out of the Bangladesh trip. Given the conflict with a two-Test tour of New Zealand, the ECB needed to fill the squad with players, leading to several more experienced individuals who had patiently awaited their chances opting to make a stand. The prevalent sentiment was that they would be aiding the board without enhancing their international prospects. Limited-overs caps were swiftly losing their significance. A recent player encapsulated the feeling: the pride in wearing the ODI shirt faded when it became a mere checkbox exercise. If the ECB doesn’t value the format, why should the players?
It’s easy to label players as “mercenaries” at this point, but these times are different. The devotion and commitment displayed between 2015 and 2019 were supported by minimal distractions from franchise leagues.
Historically, the IPL overlooked English talent, partly due to the ECB’s hesitance to allow players to be available for the entire season because of the domestic summer conflict. Only in 2018 did a significant number of the core players from 2015-19 get selected, and even that came with stringent clauses regarding international obligations, preventing them from becoming mainstays in those franchises.
It is also noteworthy that the conclusion of the Bangladesh tour prompted discussions at the ECB regarding raising match fees to enhance the appeal of playing for one’s country. However, this proposal never materialized, with additional funds funneled into central contracts instead.
The IPL remains the sole tournament overlapping with the summer during which players are granted an automatic No-Objection Certificate to participate, irrespective of their commitments to red-ball cricket. Moreover, even players lower in the hierarchy can pursue contracts during winter at the expense of developmental tours. The recent Lions trip to Australia earlier this year, led by Andrew Flintoff, was noticeably less experienced than past groups due to the overlap with the ILT20 and SA20.
This brings us to another critical consideration. The substantial financial transformations have indirectly resulted in an intriguing societal development—a missing generation of players aged between 27 to 32. English cricket seems to have lost its own “yuppie” class, absent from the pyramid like a missing Jenga block.
England’s 2019 World Cup-winning group had 12 players in this age bracket. In contrast, this Champions Trophy squad features only seven, among whom only Ben Duckett and Jofra Archer possess any substantial 50-over experience.
Beyond the current squad, the gap is evident. Can you name another top-six batter capable of pacing an ODI innings, a seamer skilled in navigating three phases of an innings, or a versatile allrounder who would enhance England’s chances? The most common suggestions—Sam Hain, Luke Wood (both 29), and Sam Curran (26)—each come with their own uncertainties.
The only clear improvement for the squad could be Dawson, though his patience with the present management has worn thin. The Hampshire allrounder recently disclosed he had been informed by England men’s selector Luke Wright that he was set to be included in the 2023 World Cup squad. The following day, he received the news that he had not made the final selection.
So, what comes next? The positive news is England will likely continue to excel in T20Is, as they have been. Yet, the last two ICC one-day tournaments have illuminated the stark differences between formats that contrast greater than what the ECB had previously assumed. Bridging these gaps necessitates genuine change—some straightforward and some improbable.
The One-Day Cup is destined to further fade into obscurity as the newly affluent Hundred asserts its dominance—unless counties take charge to rearrange the schedule and move it to the start of the season, preventing clashes from 2026 onward. New Hundred proprietors might be receptive to clearer scheduling, benefitting counties and offering more to their members. In the long term, everyone stands to gain.
Undoubtedly, franchise competitions will continue to present players with financial incentives that rival international cricket. The 50-over format won’t experience a sudden resurgence in prominence, notably not while McCullum’s main focus remains on the Test side. Just as the red ball struggled during the 2015-19 cycle, the white ball will falter with priorities shifting.
That is until the next 50-over tournament arrives. If English cricket is fortunate, the 2027 ODI World Cup may serve as the beginning of a redemption narrative, starting with the T20 World Cup next year.
For the time being, the initial steps toward that future lie with a coach who might have taken on more than he can handle and a captain who has reached the limit of his patience.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo