Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has raised concerns about whether England possess enough experience in the 50-over format to compete effectively in the upcoming Champions Trophy. His remarks came after England suffered a humiliating 3-0 series defeat against India, exposing significant weaknesses in their ODI setup. Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast during England’s third ODI loss in Ahmedabad, Butcher highlighted the lack of match experience among the squad. England fielded several inexperienced players in the series, including Jacob Bethell, who had played just 16 List A games before making his ODI debut last summer.

Gus Atkinson, who made his international debut in 2023 after featuring in only two List A matches, endured a difficult tour, conceding 139 runs across two ODIs. Following Bethell’s injury, England recalled Tom Banton, who hadn’t played a single 50-over match since his last ODI appearance in 2020.

“The first thing that sprung to my mind during the first two ODIs was just how naive most of our cricket is in the 50-over format,” said Butcher, as quoted from Wisden.

“I thought ‘why might that be?’. It’s because we don’t play any. There is a world of difference in terms of the tempo that the game needs to continuously be played at. I don’t mean that the tempo is a rigid graph that only goes up, the tempo needs to fluctuate in 50-over cricket in a way that it doesn’t need to in 20-over cricket. Having that skill and nous and game awareness to know when to put the foot down and when to ease off a little but, when to sit in and when to go hard, is something that only comes with playing lots of it,” he added.

“I remember back in the 90s when England would play three Texaco Trophy matches during the course of the summer, the sum total of England’s 50-over cricket would be three to six matches per summer. They’d be playing against Indian sides, or West Indian sides or Australian sides, the difference in number of caps between them and our players was three times more on the other team. We’re kind of back in that situation now whereby the India players will out number the number of caps of even someone like Jos Buttler for example, by at least two to one or three to one,” he said.

“A lot of our guys will be a lot better for the run. Gus Atkinson has had a pretty chastening trip and that’s not a bad thing. He’s basically found the game far too easy up to this point and has run into the first road block. Being a very talented boy and somebody who has the hunger and desire to be the very best, he will be better for the experience of a flogging in India. But if you’re talking about winning a Champions Trophy in a couple of weeks time, it’s not likely is it? That our team and the make-up of it and the experience of it is going to have the skill and the nous and the know-how to win what is a very difficult form of cricket, 50-over cricket. It requires more than just putting your foot to the floor and keeping it there,” he noted.

In stark contrast, India’s young players have considerably more experience in the format. Shubman Gill, at just 25, has already played 50 ODIs and over 100 List A matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his ODI debut in the second match of the series in Cuttack, has already featured in 30 List A games despite being in the early stages of his professional career.

England’s campaign in the Champions Trophy will begin on February 22 in Lahore, where they will take on arch-rivals Australia. They will also face Afghanistan and South Africa in the group stage, hoping to overcome their recent struggles and make a strong impact in the tournament.

Middle-order batter Tilak Varma’s “mature” unbeaten 72 was the difference between India and England in the second T20I in Chennai, reckoned visitors’ pace bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse. Tilak’s fifty helped India chase down 166 in a tense chase at the Chepauk on Saturday as the home side took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. “I felt like we got a decent score on the board towards the end. We kept on taking wickets throughout the game. But, you know, credit goes to Tilak and I think he played a very mature, smart innings and ultimately he was the difference,” said Carse in the post-match press conference.

Carse, who had a good game scoring a 17-ball 31 besides taking three wickets, defended his fellow quick Jofra Archer despite him conceding 60 runs in four overs.

Archer was taken apart by Tilak who smashed four sixes off the English fast bowler.

“A couple of nights ago, Jofra had an amazing spell up front. I still think he bowled pretty well tonight. He was pretty unfortunate. I don’t know the exact number, but a lot of runs (were scored) over the keeper’s head behind square.

“I suppose that sometimes happens, you know, when you bowl 90 mile an hour,” said Carse.

England’s downright aggression with both bat and ball has not really paid any dividends in the series so far, but Carse found no reason to change their approach.

“I think we’re always going to try and take the game on in the power play, whether that’s with bat and ball. But there’s probably always room to improve. But I think we’re always going to take that aggressive approach,” he said.

However, Carse discovered some positives in the tight finish that did not go England’s way.

“It’s obviously a defeat, but these sorts of close finishes will do wonders for you going forward for the rest of the season and the Champions Trophy. But ultimately we haven’t put a full performance in.

“So, it’s quite exciting to see where we can get to over these next couple of games.” The 29-year-old, however, conceded that England do not have much wriggle room after two successive defeats with three more matches remaining.

“Two games gone now, three to play, there’s no room now. You’ve got a win now, so every game’s going to be serious. Obviously guys are a little bit down, but as a whole, I think it’s pretty inevitable that the performance tonight was a lot better than the other night,” added Carse. 

Tilak Varma’s fifty of rare brilliance helped India survive a top-order meltdown against England pacers and register a two-wicket win in the second T20I and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series in Chennai on Saturday. Tilak (72 not out, 55b, 4×4, 5×6) cleverly used the extreme pace of English bowlers to amass runs, and singlehandedly took India past the target, as the hosts finished the night at 166 for eight. It was a mini classic because the left-hander hardly had constant support from the other end and the England bowlers were cock-a-hoop lot after making serious inroads.

Pacer Jofra Archer was his pet hunt of the night, slamming the Sussex man for a total of four sixes, the fourth one taking him past his fifty, as he leaked 60 runs in four overs for the wicket of Sanju Samson.

The left-hander’s inside the line six off pacer Brydon Carse over deep fine leg (3/29) too was highly impressive.

But India had to walk through the panic room before Tilak’s solidity carried them home.

The in-form Abhishek Sharma got India off the block in a blistering fashion, carting Archer for three boundaries in the very first over.

But a 148 kmph nip-backer by pacer Mark Wood pinged him on the back foot and even the DRS, which was taken more in hope than in any real conviction, could not save him.

The dismissal had India at a slightly shaky 15 for one which soon turned into a more concerning 19 for two along with the wicket of Samson.

The nerves were eased when skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak added 39 quick runs for the third wicket to take their side to 58, but the former dragged Carse on to his stumps to give England an opening.

From 58 for three, the English pacers crashed through that creek to bag the wickets of Dhruv Jurel and Hardik Pandya to reduce India to 78 for five.

But Washington Sundar, who was dropped on 10 by Adil Rashid at mid-on off Wood, cashed in on that reprieve, hammering the Durham man for a six and two fours in succession to bring down the mounting asking rate.

However, Washington’s attempt to run a 140 kmph thunderbolt from Carse to the third man saw the ball crashing onto his stumps.

India were 116 for six then. But they found a willing soldier in Tilak.

Earlier, Jos Buttler showed semblance of fight but other English batters didn’t follow the skipper’s suit while succumbing to Indian spinners.

Buttler (45, 30b, 2×4, 3×6) played some delectable shots, including a sequence of 4, 6, 4 off pacer Arshdeep Singh, who got rid of Phil Salt in the first over itself.

Salt pulled the left-arm pacer, who was earlier on the day named as the ICC Men’s T20 Player of the Year, but could not find the distance to get caught by Washington, who replaced injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in the XI, near the square leg boundary.

Washington had a moment of success for himself when Ben Duckett’s reverse sweep off him fell easily into the hands of Jurel, who came in for injured Rinku Singh.

However, the pull shot continued to haunt the English batters for the rest of the night as Buttler and later Liam Livingstone perished playing that shot.

India vice-captain Axar Patel (2/32) was the beneficiary of England batters’ adventurous intentions.

The left-arm spinner bowled into the pitch and the inherent grip on the surface did not allow the batters to impart force and direction to their shots.

Buttler, whose aggression helped England to reach 58 for two in the Power Play overs, was caught by Tilak, while Livingstone ended in the hands of substitute Harshit Rana.

All-rounder Carse, who came in for Gus Atkinson, used the long handle to good effect, making 31 off 17 balls including three sixes but a moment of misunderstanding with Jofra Archer snapped his promising knock.

But the highlight of the England innings was the dismissal of Harry Brook, who began well, smashing a six off spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2/38).

But soon a back of the hand delivery breached Brook’s defence to rattle his off-stump, as the English right-hander could not read it despite Chennai not having any smog.

A couple of beefy blows by lower-order batters helped England go past the 150-run mark but that was not enough.

Pakistan vs England 1st Test Day 5 Live Score Updates© AFP

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain heaped praise on Brydon Carse ahead of his Test debut for the Three Lions and said that the 29-year-old has got a lot of pace. Carse will be playing maiden long-format match in the upcoming first Test match against Pakistan in Multan. Earlier on Saturday, the England Cricket Board (ECB) released a statement and announced that pacer Brydon Carse will be making his Test debut in the first Test match of the three-game series.

“England Men have confirmed their XI for the first Test against Pakistan, set to commence on Monday in Multan. Durham seamer Brydon Carse will be making his Test debut. With England Captain Ben Stokes still recovering from a hamstring tear, Ollie Pope will captain the side in his absence,” ECB wrote in a statement.

Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket, Hussain said that Carse can do Mark Wood’s role in a match. The former cricketer added that he was impressed after seeing the 29-year-old’s performance in the white-ball cricket.

“I think someone like Carse can do that Mark Wood role. I was impressed with him in the white-ball cricket. He’s got a lot of pace and if they’re the flat pitches that England played on last time, then you’re going to need that express pace as well as skill, and Carse provides that,” Hussain was quoted by Sky Sports as saying.

He also added that Jack Leach performed well with Somerset.

“I was watching some of the Somerset games towards the end of the summer, and Leach looked like he had really, really good rhythm in those. He’s obviously missed out because of Bashir, his Somerset team-mate, going past him but I think he’s done a really good job for Somerset, and he had a good tour out there last time,” he added.

The first Test will begin on October 7 in Multan, followed by the second Test on October 15, also in Multan. The final Test will be held in Rawalpindi from October 24 to 28.

England’s playing XI against Pakistan in the Multan Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

England captain Ben Stokes said Saturday he will miss the first Test against Pakistan starting next week, after failing to recover from a hamstring injury. The 33-year-old Stokes has been out since the start of August with a hamstring tear suffered during The Hundred, missing his team’s 2-1 home Test series win against Sri Lanka last month. Top-order batter Ollie Pope, who led the side against Sri Lanka, will stand in again for the first of three matches starting in the central city of Multan on Monday.

“I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game,” Stokes told reporters. “But have taken the call to miss this one because I’ve not quite managed to get game ready.”

All-rounder Stokes was at team practice on Friday and Saturday, batting in the nets and bowling a few deliveries with a short start.

But the skipper said he was “not sure” he would participate in the second Test — also in Multan and slated for October 15.

“I’ve pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I’m at now,” he said.

“I think I’m further ahead than what we expected. I’ll be working just as hard over the next ten days to try to get myself fit for the second Test.”

Late last month the England and Wales Cricket Board said Stokes had been “on track” to play against Pakistan.

“There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme,” he said. “It’s always frustrating to miss out.”

With Stokes out, England announced their eleven for the first Test, giving pace bowler Brydon Carse his debut in the longer format.

The tourists will enter the Test with three pacers in Carse, Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes, alongside the spin duo of Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

Opener Zak Crawley also returns to the squad after missing the Sri Lanka series with a fractured finger.

England XI: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes

England paceman Brydon Carse has been banned from all cricket for three months for betting violations, it was announced Friday. The 28-year-old, who was called into England’s 50-over World Cup squad six months ago, was given a 16-month sanction — 13 months of which have been suspended — following an anti-corruption investigation by the English game’s Cricket Regulator. Carse, who signed an England central contract in October, accepted the charges of placing 303 bets on various cricket matches between 2017 and 2019, though not on games in which he was playing.

As a result, the Durham quick still contravened integrity rules meaning no “professional participant” (player, coach or other support staff) is permitted to bet on any cricket anywhere in the world.

South Africa-born Carse, a veteran of 17 white-ball internationals for England, will now be suspended immediately from playing in any cricket until August 28.

But provided he does not commit any further anti-corruption offences over the next two years, Carse will not face any further sanctions.

“Whilst these bets were several years ago, that is no excuse and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Carse said in a statement on Durham’s website.

“I would like to thank the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board), Durham Cricket and the PCA (England’s Professional Cricketers’ Association) for their support during this difficult time for me.

“I will be working hard in the next 12 weeks to ensure that I repay that support on the field when I am able to return to playing.”

An ECB spokesperson said: “We take these matters extremely seriously and do not condone any form of anti-corruption breach in cricket.

“We support the Cricket Regulator’s decision and their consideration of the mitigating factors in Brydon’s case.

“He has co-operated and shown remorse for his actions. We are satisfied that Brydon has shown growth in the five years since this breach and has demonstrated a greater understanding of his responsibilities.

“We are hopeful that his case can serve as an educational example for other cricketers.”

Carse’s most recent appearance for England came during a one-day international against the West Indies in Antigua in December last year.

His ban effectively rules him out of a Test debut this season, with the last of England’s six matches in the format in their home summer, against Sri Lanka at The Oval starting on September 6, commencing just over a week after Carson’s suspension ends.

File image of Brydon Carse© Twitter