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Former England cricketer Mark Butcher isn't satisfied at all with the side's batting display against New Zealand so far in the three-match ODI series. Notably, Harry Brook & Co. have lost both the matches in the series so far and their dismal batting played a big role in those defeats. They could only put up 223 runs on the board in the first ODI before being bundled out and their performance worsened in the second game as they got bowled out for just 175 runs.
New Zealand triumph in the series
New Zealand won both the matches rather comfortably and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Following their defeat in the second ODI, Butcher expressed his disappointment with the England batters.
“Go harder? I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure how they could have done that given the way the ball was moving around. Perhaps in those circumstances, that might have been the right approach, as Brook demonstrated. When the ball is nipping around, taking risks is often better than merely surviving. However, that was not the case in the second game," Butcher said on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
Butcher labelled that England batters' performance as "inexcusable" and pointed out that successful teams change their approach according to the game rather than continuing with a fixed plan.
“Falling short of batting your 50 overs by the margin they did is inexcusable. Successful teams adapt their approach to each match rather than sticking to a fixed plan," Butcher stated.
“It doesn’t seem that there’s any learning happening, given the poor results. I don’t think there’s a major issue with the players selected; by and large, they’re the best available. A bit of intelligence and humility might be needed in their approach, understanding that not every game is a chance to smash the ball. Sometimes, you need to respect the opposition bowlers," he added.
England's poor run of form in ODIs
Meanwhile, England have been in poor form in one-day cricket ever since the 2023 ODI World Cup. Since then, they have lost 17 out of the 25 ODIs they have played so far. Jos Buttler had stepped down from captaincy after the Three Lions' exit in the group stage of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and Brook had been elected as the new skipper. Under the latter's leadership, the team completed a clean sweep of 3-0 against West Indies, but have just one game out of five since then. It remains to be seen if they will be able to avoid a series whitewash against New Zealand by registering a win in the third ODI on November 1.
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