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From Winners To Chokers? England's Death Bowling Crisis In Champions Trophy

Kaushik Kashyap

England death bowling in tatters. [Source - AP Photos]England death bowling in tatters. [Source - AP Photos]

England’s death bowling is in dire straits. As Afghanistan had one of their better days with the bat, England’s bowling collectively hit a new low. Once considered a dominant force in the 50-over format , England is now struggling to make a living for themselves in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.

Following a disastrous 2023 World Cup  and recent slump in ODIs, England's future in this format is hanging on a cliff. With the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy underway in Pakistan and UAE, the decline became even more evident as once favorites of ICC white-ball events, struggling to make it to the knockout stage of the competition.

The Rise And Fall

The Jos Buttler-led side have been a team with ultra aggressive batters, said to have revolutionized the way runs should be scored, which peaked with their maiden World Cup title back in 2019. However it's all history now as the batters are still doing their job to some extent but the glaring weakness with the ball has led them to a sharp decline.

England’s success in ODIs was driven by a strong batting backed by an all-round bowling attack which used to be a force under the leadership of Eoin Morgan. Having said that, the tables have turned completely now as time and again, England have failed to execute their strategies with the ball, especially in the final 10 overs, leaking crucial runs and allowing opposition batters to achieve glory.

England's Death Bowling Nightmare

England’s death bowling was a big concern leading up to the Champions Trophy, and it's one of the reasons now they might have to make an early exit from the competition. They were the only bowling line-up in the world to have conceded over 9 runs per over in the last ten overs (508 runs, 15 dismissals and 22 bowling strike-rate) in ODIs since the 2023 World Cup.

As a result, England failed to win any bilateral ODI series in this period ahead of the Champions Trophy where the things went bad to worse. After what was a record-breaking night in Lahore against Australia, it was a major letdown from England bowlers who were far from their best and allowed their rivals to chase down a record 352-run target in just 47.3 overs.

Moreover, the death bowling vulnerabilities got badly exposed against Afghanistan where England conceded 113 runs in the last ten overs, powering Afghanistan to a daunting 325-run total. Ibrahim Zadran was the major destroyer, launching an incredible assault as the dynamic batter went on to score a historic 177 runs, the highest individual score in the history of Champions Trophy.

When Good Plans Go Bad

The likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have failed miserably and their inability to bowl in the right areas have helped the opposition batters to go big. According to data shared by CricViz, England have failed to nail their yorker (only eight in two matches) in the Champions Trophy. Instead of bowling right on the block-hole, England bowlers have bowled half-volleys (47 runs in 17 balls) and full-tosses (6 runs in 4 balls), allowing opposition to enjoy a good time punishing those deliveries.

Besides, England over-reliant on hard-length (33 runs off 16 balls) and directionless bouncers (30 runs off 14) sat up nicely for the opposition batters on considerably slow surfaces in Pakistan. As a result, in total, 2019 World Champions have conceded 204 runs and possess an economy rate of 11.6 (highest for any team) bowling in the last 10 overs in the Champions Trophy 2025. 

In addition, England's lack of Plan B in absence of Brydon Carse and Wood, in the later stages of the game against Afghanistan, has highlighted the errors in managing bowling options.

The fact that England has played a crucial role in setting new standards for teams in modern-day cricket. Their downfall is just not a setback of their own but a huge blow to cricket as a whole in a period when it's seeking global recognition. 

That being said, there are many more factors which have led to the position England are in at the moment. But if bowling gets back to its best, the other things are most likely to fall into place and do a world of good to the entire sport.