England were unable to handle pressure, admits McCullum
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KARACHI: England’s dismal Champions Trophy campaign concluded with a whimper on Saturday as South Africa’s ruthless seven-wicket victory in Karachi sealed their semi-final berth.
A shell-shocked Jos Buttler watched his captaincy tenure end in tatters, his side bowled out for 179 before the Proteas romped home in just 30 overs, powered by Rassie van der Dussen’s unbeaten 72 and Heinrich Klaasen’s explosive 64.
Head coach Brendon McCullum did not sugarcoat the failure.
“Tonight was probably the example of why we’re out of the tournament,” he admitted, citing England’s inability to handle pressure. “We weren’t able to withstand it when applied or navigate our way through.”
The batting collapse — a recurring theme — saw reckless shots from Phil Salt, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone, while Joe Root’s gritty 37 proved futile. Jofra Archer’s spirited 25 and two early wickets were lone bright sparks in a performance McCullum labelled “very poor.”
McCullum pinpointed a crippling lack of confidence but vowed to rebuild.
“The only way for our white-ball team is up. That’s the attitude you’ve got to have,” he said, defending the team’s pre-tournament preparations despite a heavy series loss in India. “It was as good of preparation as you could have,” he insisted, though results suggest otherwise.
Buttler’s departure as captain now forces a leadership reset.
“Jos [Buttler] still has a huge role to play,” McCullum stressed, but confirmed talks with ECB’s Rob Key to identify a successor. “It’ll be exciting for a new captain to put their stamp on it,” he said, sidestepping names but acknowledging the need to “learn lessons” from the debacle.
Player-of-the-match Jansen dismantled England’s top order with a spell of relentless accuracy, exploiting a hint of early movement before the Karachi surface flattened.
“We stuck to hitting hard lengths with intent,” the 24-year-old Jansen said in the post-match media talk, downplaying the conditions. “There wasn’t much swing, just a bit of nip early. When you bowl with energy, things happen.”
His dismissal of Salt, Jamie Smith and Duckett inside the powerplay left England reeling at 37-3, a collapse they never recovered from.
Jansen deflected praise to the batting duo of van der Dussen and Klaasen, whose century-partnership sealed the chase.
“Rassie [van der Dussen] and Heinrich Klaasen went out and played with good intent and got us over the line quite easily, “ he remarked.
He further added that as a unit, they executed plans well — bowlers did their job while batters finished it.
With South Africa surging into the semi-finals, Jansen dismissed notions of altering their approach.
“I wouldn’t say the mindset changes it’s just the the occasion that’s probably a bit more hyped up,” Jansen said.
“You train your process or steps. The occasion or the situation of the game probably changes [but] not really me mentally.”
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
