"They don't bowl at 90mph" - Former captain cites example of two legends, slams England’s obsession with pace after Champions Trophy 2025 exit

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has slammed the team management for their obsession with pace following their Champions Trophy 2025 exit after losses to Australia and Afghanistan. The elimination came weeks after the Jos Buttler-led side lost to India by a 0-3 margin in a three-match ODI bilateral series.

Vaughan pointed out that bowling at 150kmph has pros as well as cons. The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that batters love to play at the aforementioned pace in the sub-continent. The veteran shared how legends James Anderson and Stuart Broad were exceptional throughout their career, despite bowling under 90 mph.

He also questioned the lack of variety in the bowling unit and the absence of enough left-handers in their XI.

"I don't know who that person is who's made the decision that it's all about pace in white-ball cricket. If you ask most batters around the world, of course you don't want to face 90mph, but if there's a place where you'd love to face 90mph, it's in the sub-continent. England have hit both India and [teams] in the Champions Trophy with a huge amount of pace and batters have been deflecting the ball to all parts," he said (via the BBC).

Vaughan continued:

“In the time I've been watching cricket, playing cricket, and involved in English cricket, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have been our best two bowlers. They don't bowl at 90mph.”

“There's no left-arm seam bowlers, no left-arm spin, no left-handed batters [and] we just seem to be all out in terms of pace,” he added.

Vaughan also took the example of an England Lions player, who was inducted in the central contract for his ability to bowl at 90 mph. He said in the same interaction:

“Recently, England have been hell-bent on making sure they're looking for that 90mph bowler. The England Lions tour of Australia - a young chap, Sonny Baker, bowled nicely, he bowled 90mph. He's been given a central contract, or a contract that England can manage.”

To illustrate his point, the 50-year-old stated that Sam Cook didn’t get a contract with the ECB despite bagging 300 wickets at an impressive average of 19 in county cricket.

“There's a lad at Essex called Sam Cook. He's 27, he bowls 82mph, he's got 311 wickets in county cricket at an average of 19. He was the pick of the bowlers on the Lions tour and he hasn't got that contract. It's a clear decision by the England management that it's all about pace.”

“They bowl around 82-84 mph” – Michael Vaughan cites example of 2019 World Cup heroes after England's 2025 Champions Trophy elimination

Michael Vaughan also talked about Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett, who delivered with the ball for champions England in the 2019 World Cup despite being medium pacers. He concluded:

“I'll just go back to the 2019 World Cup final. I know it's different conditions but Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett got 6-79 [and] they bowl around 82-84 mph.”

Woakes and Plunkett bagged 16 and 11 wickets in 11 and seven games, respectively, in the 2019 World Cup.

Jos Buttler and Co. will play their final Champions Trophy 2025 group-stage match against South Africa in Karachi on Saturday, March 1. They will be hoping for a consolation win in the tournament. On the other hand, the Proteas will be keen to reach the Champions Trophy semifinals after their last game against Australia was abandoned due to rain.