Jos Buttler has announced he will tomorrow stand down as England’s one-day captain, after his side once again failed to move past the group stage of a white-ball tournament.

Watch Live & Free coverage of the 2024/25 Sheffield Shield on Kayo Freebies | Join Freebies now, no credit card required.

Buttler, who has captained the 50-over side since 2022, will lead England in their last group match against South Africa on Saturday before relinquishing the role.

His resignation comes with his side now losing 15 of their last 21 one-day internationals, with pressure on the veteran continuing to rise in recent days. Additionally, their most recent ODI loss to Afghanistan this Champions Trophy was their ninth defeat in ten 50-over matches this year.

Four days prior to their eight-run loss to Afghanistan, Buttler’s side lost to Australia by five wickets; a shock result given Australia’s second-string pace attack in the absence of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

“It’s the right decision for me, and the right decision for the team,” Buttler told reporters in Pakistan on Friday.

“Hopefully someone else can come in and work closely alongside ‘Baz’ (Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be. It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy. Obviously two losses and going out of the tournament with a bit of a hangover from some tournaments before, I probably reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy, which is a shame and (I’m) sad about that.

“It just feels like it’s the right time for me and the team to have a change.

“The overriding emotions are still sadness and disappointment, but I’’m sure in time that will pass and I can get back to enjoying my cricket. I’ll be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country and all the special things that come with that.”

In Buttler’s last three white-ball tournaments as skipper, his side has failed to play a final — knocked out in the group stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup, and now this year’s Champions Trophy.

In the days leading up to his decision, a trio of well-respected former England captains in Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, and Michael Vaughan all agreed now was the time for Buttler to step aside as the white-ball leader.

“I think his time is done as captain … I think that’s probably right.” Atherton said on Sky Sports.

“England do judge themselves on these ICC events, they’ve made that very clear, that because they come along so frequently now, they build towards these tournaments.

“But England have had three bad ones in a row now, the disastrous 50-over World Cup in India, a poor T20 World Cup in the Caribbean – where they made the semis but they didn’t beat anybody of note through it – and now here, and their cricket is way below the standards which they set themselves.

“Sometimes you just have to say it’s not working and therefore it’s time for a change and time for somebody else, and I think deep down, he probably knows that.”

“I’ve never looked at Buttler and thought ‘wow what a leader,’ he doesn’t have that presence in the field that an Eoin Morgan had. That’s a bad comparison because you’re talking about England’s greatest-ever white-ball captain, and he was a hard act to follow,” Hussain added.

“As far as captaincy goes, I don’t think Buttler has added that much to this England team, but it’s taken away from his batting. And when you add the two together, take away from a great player and you’re not gaining with leadership and captaincy, I think it’s probably time to move on.”

Star batter Harry Brook is England’s current white-ball vice captain, with the 26-year-old arguably the favourite to take the reigns from his superior post-Champions Trophy.

Buttler has scored 38 and 23 with the bat so far this series, with all batters bar Joe Root struggling to make inroads out in the middle this tournament.