"Left the worst until last" - Ex-cricketer rips into England after winless 2025 Champions Trophy campaign

Former England skipper Michael Atherton has ripped into Jos Buttler and Co. as they ended their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign winless. With England delivering their worst performance of the tournament, Atherton felt it came from a team that was all out of confidence.

The Englishmen came into the game on Saturday (March 1) with their playoff chances already done but had the opportunity to regain pride with a victory over South Africa.

Although England crossed 300 in the first two games, they were bowled out for 179 by the Proteas in an innings that lasted only 38.2 overs. In response, South Africa chased down the target under 30 overs with seven wickets to spare.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the ex-opener acknowledged that the performance on Saturday was shocking and declared it's time for a reset.

"They left the worst until last. Even the cat's had enough. That was a shocking performance from a team that was lacking in any kind of confidence now."

"England have been on a roll for a while in ODI cricket and it's very hard to turn it around. This has been their third shocking tournament in a row, but they don't play now for a while. It's time for a reset."

Jos Buttler, who said it would be his last game as England's white-ball captain, fell for a labored 21 off 43 deliveries. Joe Root, who scored a valiant hundred against Afghanistan, proved to be the top scorer for the Three Lions with 37.

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"Dreadful performance just symptomatic of a team whose confidence has drained away" - Michael Atherton on England's woes

Michael Atherton. (Image Credits: Getty)

Atherton observed that the performance on Saturday was a reflection of consistently poor performances over a period of time and added:

"A dreadful performance just symptomatic of a team whose confidence has drained away when you think of the defeats they've suffered - not just in this tournament but going back to the India tour and then over a period of time. What is it? Eighteen out of the last 25 games in ODIs."

"Eventually that confidence just dissipates and that was reflected in that performance today. Just not enough batters in form. [Joe] Root and [Ben] Duckett have been in pretty good touch in this tournament, but who else has been in decent touch? Nobody, really."

The Three Lions' next ODI assignment will be at home against the West Indies in May-June.