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.

Team India have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England, after a thrilling victory in the second game at Chennai. England’s batting did not fare well once again, with most batters apart from Jos Buttler failing to contribute big. Many of these England stars are also going to be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, and their poor form will be a point of concern for their IPL sides. In particular, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – who have three English batters – will be worried.

Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell are all set to turn out for Virat Kohli‘s RCB in IPL 2025, but the batters have fared poorly so far in the ongoing T20I series. This was pointed out by former India cricketer-turned-pundit Aakash Chopra.

“Arshdeep (Singh) dismisses Phil Salt in any case. Salt got out and then Liam Livingstone got out, and I was reminded of RCB again,” Chopra said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

Salt has fallen prey to Arshdeep in the first over of both T20Is, managing 0 and 4 respectively. One of IPL 2024’s standout openers, Salt has lost a bit of form.

Livingstone also scored a duck in the first T20I and only scored 13 in the second. Meanwhile, Jacob Bethell was dropped for the second game, after scoring only 7 runs in the first.

As a result, RCB will be concerned regarding the form of their overseas stars, with IPL 2025 less than two months away.

Chopra also criticised Harry Brook, who had earlier stated that the smog in Kolkata had blurred his eyesight.

“What AQI excuse do you give, the England guys should feel ashamed. Harry Brook said after the last match that he couldn’t see the ball due to smog. The ball was visible this time but it still hit his stumps. It was a short ball, you played on the front foot and it hit your stumps. You are unable to read the ball from the hand,” Chopra said.

Brook also got out for 13, once again being dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy.

IND vs ENG 1st T20I LIVE Streaming© AFP

New Zealand tore through England’s batting Tuesday to crush the visitors by 423 runs in the third Test and send Tim Southee into retirement on a triumphant note. The hosts sealed a dominant performance in Hamilton by claiming seven wickets in 41.2 overs on day four as England crumbled for 234. It was New Zealand’s equal highest victory by runs and a complete reversal from the first two Tests, which England won easily to clinch the three-match series. Playing on his home ground at Seddon Park, seamer Southee finished with 2-34 in his 107th and final Test, ending the career of one of New Zealand’s finest players. 

He finishes with 391 Test wickets, second only to Richard Hadlee among New Zealanders.

“I want to thank New Zealand Cricket for everything you have done. My family, who are there for the ride and see the ups and downs,” said the 36-year-old Southee.

“And my team-mates. These guys have made the ride so much more enjoyable, I have loved every minute.

“And finally the fans. It is always great to turn out in front of numbers. This week has been pretty special to play at Seddon Park in front of a great crowd.”

New Zealand only needed to take nine second-innings wickets for an emphatic victory because England skipper Ben Stokes did not bat.

Stokes suffered a hamstring injury on Monday.

Stokes said it was disappointing to end the series in the manner England did.

“You can’t fault any of the energy or effort we put into the game,” he said.

“Obviously it’s not ideal to end a series on this note but New Zealand are a strong side and didn’t give up.

“We want to come out and win every game we play. We wanted to leave with three victories in the bag.”

England crumble

After resuming at 18-2, England never threatened their enormous target of 658, their hopes dwindling further when losing Jacob Bethell for 76, Joe Root for 54 and Harry Brook for just one before lunch.

They looked comfortable for the first hour before Root departed, having put on 104 for the third wicket with Bethell.

England’s greatest run-scorer was trapped lbw attempting to sweep left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.

Having been given not out, New Zealand successfully reviewed, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have hit the middle stump.

It left 33-year-old Root 28 runs short of becoming the fifth player to score 13,000 Test runs.

Brook, who scored match-winning centuries in each of the first two Tests, was out cheaply for the second time at Seddon Park, caught behind off a sharply rising Will O’Rourke delivery.

Left-hander Bethell batted fluently, striking 13 fours and a six, until he swung at a wide Southee delivery to be caught at deep point.

Ollie Pope (17) was bowled attempting to reverse scoop pace bowler Matt Henry before Gus Atkinson‘s hard-hit 43 ended when caught in the deep off Santner.

Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse fell cheaply, also trying to hit Santner out of the ground.

All-rounder Santner justified his recall by taking 4-85 to finish with seven wickets in the match, alongside scores of 76 and 49 with the bat.

New Zealand vs England 3rd Test Day 4 Live Scorecard© AFP

England’s young star Jacob Bethell is looking forward to playing alongside Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India stalwart Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Bethell became RCB’s latest acquisition in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction for Rs 2.6 crore. The 21-year-old attracted bids from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings but both franchises failed to overcome RCB’s resolve. Bethell will link up with his England teammates Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone at RCB but it is Virat he is most excited to rub shoulders with. “It’s a bit of a given, isn’t it? “Virat! He’s a great of the game so… King Kohli,” Bethell said, with a wry smile, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

The cash-rich league has been a platform for budding talents to absorb the experience and implement it in taking their game to new heights. Even Bethell is looking to go into the IPL and walk away with a “wealth of experience.”

“Any kind of overseas player that’s gone over there has come back with a wealth of experience,” he added.

Bethell was used at the number three spot instead of Ollie Pope, who regularly features in the top of the batting order for England in the opening Test against New Zealand.

As a result, Pope, who was put in charge of keeping the wicket, was downgraded to the number six spot. After his innings-saving 77 on Day 2, Pope informed about his plans to make the number three spot his own.

But Bethell hopes to have a chance to continue in the number three spot as his game perfectly suits the demands of the position.

“I like batting up the order so, yeah, I was really happy that opportunity arose. I’ve always wanted to bat in the top four so three is perfect,” he said.

“I think my game is fit to play any style. On Sunday we saw a bit more of an attacking style. I can also absorb a bit of pressure, so I’m sure at times in my career there will be times to do that as well,” he added.

In his debut Test for England, Bethell fell flat in the first innings after managing just 10 from 34 deliveries. He battled hard for survival on the field but it was up to no avail.

His struggles eventually ended after he nicked the ball away to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell off Nathan Smith. In the second innings, he looked more assured of himself and fired an unbeaten 50 in just 37 balls which took England to a comfortable 8-wicket success over New Zealand.

“That’s part of the game, isn’t it? I saw it [as] if I got through to lunch, it looked like a different pitch after lunch. It does help when you’ve got Harry Brook batting, he makes it look quite easy,” Bethell said about his outing in the first innings.

“I think it could have been a different story, I battled hard and unluckily didn’t make it through to lunch but another day you get through and go on to make a big one,” he added.

With England, 1-0 up in the series, securing the three-Test affair would certainly be something that they would eye in the second match, beginning on December 6 in Wellington.

England shattered records with another ‘Bazball’ run-chase of 104 runs during the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Sunday, taking the least amount of overs to complete a 100-plus run chase in history of Test cricket. Set a target of 104 runs, England did lose Zak Crawley for just one run, but knocks from Ben Duckett (27 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Jacob Bethell, the Test debutant (50* in 37 balls, with eight fours and a six) and Joe Root (23* in 15 balls, with three boundaries and a six) helped them complete the chase in just 12.4 overs, the fastest-ever in Test history. Previously, the record was held by the losing side, NZ, who had chased down 109 against Bangladesh in 18.4 overs back in 2017 at the same venue.

Also, the run rate of 8.21 is the highest ever by a team in a successful run-chase of 100 runs or more.

Previously, this record was held by the West Indies, who had a run rate of 6.82 while successfully chasing 172 against India in Kingston back in 1983. This was the first time in the 147-year history of Test cricket when a team maintained a run rate of over 8 in a run chase of 100 or above.

England have now won the first Test of five consecutive series (two home and three overseas). Their last defeat in a Test series opener was in the Ashes 2023 (at Edgbaston).

Coming to the match, England won the toss and opted to field first. The fifties from Kane Williamson (93 in 197 balls, with 10 fours) and Glenn Phillips (58 in 87 balls, with six fours and a six) were crucial in NZ reaching 348/10.

Brydon Carse (4/64) and Shoaib Bashir (4/69) were top bowlers for England.

In the next innings, thanks to a fine century from a red-hot Harry Brook (171 in 197 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes) and half-centuries from Ollie Pope (77 in 98 balls, with eight fours) and skipper Ben Stokes (80 in 146 balls, with nine fours), England took a lead of 151 runs, before getting all out for 499 runs.

In their next innings, despite fifties from Kane (61 in 86 balls, with seven fours) and Daryl Mitchell (84 in 167 balls, with 12 fours and a six), the Kiwis were bundled out for 254 runs, giving themselves only 103 runs lead. Carse (6/42) completed a memorable ten-wicket haul while Chris Woakes got three scalps.

England chased down the total with eight wickets in hand, Bethell unbeaten with Joe Root (23* in 15 balls, with three fours and a six).

Carse secured a ‘Player of the Match’ for his 10 wicket haul and a knock of 33* in 24 balls in the first innings.

England is 1-0 up in the three-match series, with second Test in Wellington from December 6 onwards.

Jacob Bethell will bat at number three on his Test debut as England on Tuesday named their team for the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch. The 21-year-old was ushered into the side for the match beginning Thursday after wicketkeeper Jordan Cox broke his right thumb during a net session. Regular number three Ollie Pope replaces Cox with the gloves and drops down to bat at six, with captain Ben Stokes at seven in the batting order. 

Bethell, who has never batted higher than number four in first-class cricket, where he averages 25.44, only made his international debut two months ago in white ball matches against Australia and the West Indies. 

Joe Root stays at number four, despite making 262 when he batted third in the first Test in Pakistan last month. 

Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and all-rounder Stokes form the pace attack on a Hagley Oval pitch that traditionally offers a greenish wicket favouring the seamers. Shoaib Bashir is the lone spinner. 

New Zealand are yet to name their starting XI but can call on the services of leading batsman Kane Williamson, who has returned after injury forced him out of the recent 3-0 Test series win in India.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (capt), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.

New Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young.