Jos Buttler-led England National Cricket Team opened their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Steve Smith-led Australia National Cricket Team on Saturday, February 22, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
England National Cricket Team faced an awful 5-wicket loss at the hands of Australia National Cricket Team to start their campaign in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on a disappointing note.
Also Read: ‘One of the greatest knocks in history’ – Josh Inglis’ CT 2025 ton leaves cricket world awestruck
England scored big but lost the match
England were invited to bat first in the match and they did a fantastic job. Ben Duckett led the English batting unit with his historic knock of 165 runs.
Duckett became the first cricketer in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy to slam 150 runs in an innings. He was supported by the modern-day great Joe Root, who hit a stellar 68 runs.
However, the batting efforts of England were not complimented by the bowlers as they allowed Australia to pull off the biggest chase in the history of the ICC ODI events with 5 wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.
Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, and Liam Livingstone picked up one wicket each, but they were unable to dismiss Josh Inglis, who hit a match-winning ton.
He played brilliantly – Jos Buttler on Ben Duckett
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Jos Buttler lauded his team’s batting efforts and showered rich praise on Ben Duckett for his knock. He added that it was a shame that Ben Duckett’s innings came in a losing cause.
“I think 350 you would take that as a score. Dew was a worry and it was wet. The conditions to chase down 350 was a great effort from them. He played brilliantly. In all formats, he has improved his game. He has been brilliant at the top in all formats. Duckett can be incredibly consistent in this format. Delighted for him. Just a shame it is in a losing cause,” Jos Buttler.
Jos Buttler further said that they needed to break the partnership between Josh Inglis and Alex Carey to get back into the game. Jos Buttler also made it clear that they are still very positive, and there is optimism in the group.
“Rather focus on partnerships than individuals. Take the focus off yourself and focus on partnerships. That’s what Root and Duckett did. Breaking that partnership was needed between Inglis and Carey. Immense belief in guys. There is optimism in the group,” Jos Buttler said.
How was England’s performance in the previous ODI against Australia?
England delivered a strong batting performance in the previous ODI against Australia on September 29, 2024, but didn’t get the desired support from the bowlers, resulting in a 49-run defeat via the DLS method in Bristol.
Batting first, Ben Duckett hit a superb 107 off 91 balls, and Harry Brook smashed a sensational 72 off 52, but the Australian spin attack triggered a collapse, and they were folded for 309 runs.
Travis Head (4/28) led the Australian bowling attack, removing key players including Ben Duckett. England’s middle and lower order struggled, adding just 107 runs for the last 8 wickets, and the Three Lions couldn’t reach the 350-run mark.
Due to rain interruptions, Australia got a revised target of 117 runs from 20.4 overs. Defending it, England’s bowlers needed early breakthroughs but they failed to contain Australia’s aggressive approach.
Matthew Potts (1/49) and Brydon Carse (1/36) were the only wicket-takers, and Matthew Short (58 off 30) and Travis Head (31 off 26) took the game away in the powerplay itself before Steve Smith (36) and Josh Inglis (28) finished off the match.
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