New Delhi, Feb 25 England's Champions Trophy campaign hangs by a thread as they prepare to face Afghanistan on Wednesday, knowing that another defeat, following their opening loss to Australia, could see them staring at early elimination. Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain have weighed in on England’s struggles, raising concerns over Jofra Archer’s form and calling for a promotion up the order for skipper Jos Buttler.
“I was also a bit worried looking at Jofra when he came back on,” Atherton said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “You've got a guy who has had a lot of time away from cricket, so you have to give him time to find his best form again, but Simon Doull did a bit of analysis on the tele on differences between his action in 2019 and now. Jofra pre-injury had a high arm and that snap of the wrist [through his bowling action], and it didn't quite look like that to me.”
Archer, who was England’s hero in their 2019 World Cup triumph, has been plagued by injuries in the years since, and his struggles were evident in the game against Australia, where he conceded 82 runs, including 49 from his final five overs. His inability to contain Australia in the closing stages proved costly as England’s total of 352 was chased down in record fashion.
Meanwhile, Hussain believes Buttler must be moved higher up the order to have a greater impact on the game. Against Australia, Buttler walked in at No. 6 in the 35th over, managing just 23 off 21 balls.
“I would have him (bat) up the order,” Hussain stated. “If he gets in - at three, or four - Buttler, at his best, could go on and get 150. He could play the sort of innings that Inglis did because he's so talented.”
Hussain emphasized that this tournament could define Buttler’s tenure as captain. “If, on a pitch like that [in Lahore], England's best white-ball player of all time is sitting and watching nearly 40 overs of cricket from the pavilion, as an opposition captain I'm enjoying that,” he said.
“And for Jos as skipper, this is a defining tournament. If they don't qualify through the group stage here, he could well lose his job. For that reason, if I'm Jos I'm thinking, 'my job is hanging on the line here, I need to have a massive impact on this game, on this tournament right now."
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