The Jos Buttler-led England National Cricket Team has been facing hate, anger, and criticism from across the corner after their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 ended in an embarrassing fashion. The 2019 World Cup winners crashed out of the tournament after back-to-back defeats.
After facing a five-wicket defeat against Australia in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener, the England National Cricket Team has yet again embarrassed themselves with a crushing 8-run loss to Afghanistan in their must-win clash on Wednesday (February 26) in Lahore.
England’s struggles in the ICC events spark outrage among former cricketers
With this defeat, the English side was officially eliminated from the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan battling for the two semifinal spots from Group B. Notably, India and New Zealand have already qualified for the Top 4 of the tournament.
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It was the second consecutive time when Jos Buttler and his team failed to make it to the semifinals in the ICC ODI tournament, having fallen short in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. This failure sparked frustration among the English fans and former cricketers, and they have now just exploded.
The latest name is the former England Women star and well-known broadcaster Alex Hartley, who is known for her blunt statements on the national team’s performance—both men’s and women’s, has launched yet another scathing attack on the England cricket team.
Alex Hartley blasts England teams for arrogance despite poor performances
Former England spinner has strongly criticized both the men’s and women’s teams for showing arrogance despite poor performances. She believes that their attitude doesn’t match their performances. Hartley called for a change in the mindset to get back to winning ways.
Notably, England cricket has faced a tough time recently. Earlier this month, the England women’s cricket team suffered a disastrous Ashes campaign, losing every match in a crushing 16-0 whitewash. Adding to the misery, the men’s team has now been knocked out of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Hartley criticized the England players for their focus on entertainment over results, saying she is really concerned as English cricket is currently in a ‘sad place.’. The commentator also noted that England has been losing the interest of the fans because of their approach, as she strongly believes that winning is key to keeping fans engaged.
Read Also: Asia Cup 2025 schedule confirmed, tournament moved out of India
England is in sad place right now: Alex Hartley
Alex Hartley has criticised the ‘arrogance’ of both England men’s and women’s teams following recent disappointments on the field. #BBCCricket #Ashes #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/mlBrLcI0sD
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) February 27, 2025
Alex Hartley said on BBC TMS: “I think the frustrating thing for me when I watch English cricket at the minute, in both teams, is the arrogance of the players and of the staff and the messaging that we want to entertain; we don’t care about results. But you have to win for people to be entertained because the public, for some reason, has fallen out of love with English cricket. It’s a really sad place for England men and England women to be in.”
Recently, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also took a dig at the England opener Ben Duckett and Test captain Ben Stokes, criticizing their casual attitude. He accused England of making excuses and slammed the team for their flippant statements.