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.
Vaughan continued:
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:
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.
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:
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.
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