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Telegraph
28-02-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Jos Buttler resigns as England white-ball captain
Jos Buttler has resigned as England white-ball captain, and will lead his country for the final time against South Africa in the Champions Trophy on Saturday. Buttler's decision comes after a third consecutive poor performance by England at a global event. After losing to Australia and Afghanistan, England have now lost 18 of their past 25 ODIs, going back to the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup. He made his decision after the eight-run loss against Afghanistan in Lahore. Buttler spoke with Brendon McCullum, England's head coach on Thursday when he informed him of his decision. 'My over-riding emotions are sadness and disappointment but I'm sure in time that will pass and I'll get back to really enjoying my cricket,' Buttler said in Lahore. 'I'll be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country and all the special things that come with it. 'It's the right decision for me and it's the right decision for the team. Hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside Baz [McCullum] to take the team back to where it needs to be.' After meek defences of the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup in the past two years, England have now crashed out of the Champions Trophy at the earliest possible moment. 'It's quite clear this tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy and two losses and going out of the tournament with a bit of a hangover from the tournaments before, I've just reached the end of the road,' Buttler said. 'It's a shame and I'm sad about that. With Brendon coming in only recently, I was really excited to work closely alongside him and hope for a very quick turnaround and [to] take the team forward. It's not quite worked out that way, so it just feels like it's the right time for me and the team to have a change.' When he announced his resignation, Buttler confirmed that he intends to play on for England in both white-ball formats if selected. There had been speculation that he might retire from ODIs if he stepped down as captain. After playing South Africa, England's next ODI is against West Indies on May 29. A new captain is set to be in place for that game, with Harry Brook and Joe Root the prime candidates. McCullum said that England would not rush to appoint Buttler's successor. Despite the poor end to his reign, Buttler leaves his role as one of only three Englishmen to lead his country to a World Cup victory. In his first tournament as skipper after Eoin Morgan stood down, Buttler captained England to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where they defeated Pakistan in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In the Champions Trophy, Buttler returned to No 6 in an attempt to relocate his best form. He made 23 and 38 in England's two games – on both occasions getting a start, but not amassing a match-winning score. Give Joe Root the job – and stop Harry Brook being overburdened Seldom has a succession seemed so inevitable. Harry Brook was already Jos Buttler's vice-captain, and performed sterlingly – both with the bat and in the field – when deputising against Australia in the one-day international series last September. Aged 26, Brook is now poised to become England's new white-ball captain, and could easily lead England all the way until the 2031 ODI World Cup. So far, so simple. But in modern English cricket all plans, however obvious they appear, have to confront the reality of the schedule. England's next ODI after the Champions Trophy, for instance, begins on May 29. England's Test against Zimbabwe is due to finish just three days earlier – yet Brook might instead be in Kolkata, playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League final. Even if Delhi do not qualify for the final, Brook will need to rest after two months of the IPL before facing India in five Tests. For multi-format players like Brook, the clashes will continue. In October and November, England tour New Zealand for three ODIs and three T20Is; Brook's time might be better-used preparing for the Ashes. In January next year, England are due to tour Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is, with the T20 World Cup to follow; the ODI series looms as a rare opportunity for Brook to have a break. Since his Test debut, in September 2022, Brook has been involved in 188 days of scheduled cricket for his country, across the three formats – the most of any Englishman, narrowly ahead of Ben Duckett. History attests to the dangers of England asking their best players to be available for all formats: consider Ben Stokes's previous retirement from ODIs. Brook already had one extended break from the sport at the start of last year, withdrawing from the Test tour of India and the IPL after his grandmother passed away. With the next World Cup not until October 2027, bilateral ODIs will remain the most obvious format for players to rest. But England have already learnt the perils of a part-time approach to building an ODI side. Eighteen defeats in 25 matches, including two ignominious world events, has been the result. England's dramatic retrenchment as an ODI side demands a full-time captain. The ideal solution, perhaps, would be to have a captain who does not play Test cricket at all – allowing them to give unstinting focus to the white-ball side, just as Eoin Morgan did after the 2015 World Cup. James Vince, one of the savviest tacticians in the English game – and in the form of his life – would be the most viable such candidate. It is an attractive idea; the mundane reality is that Vince turns 34 next month, only averages 28 from 25 ODIs and has moved to Dubai. If England decide that Brook is best-served by not being given the ODI job yet, there is an alternative who is in-form, completely assured of his place in the side and has a deep understanding of the intricacies of the 50-over game. His name? Joe Root. The idea of Root being England captain again seems absurd. But far less absurd than the notion of Steve Smith leading Australia again once appeared. In the Champions Trophy, in the absence of Pat Cummins, Smith is doing just that; Australia have no concerns that he is locked out of their T20I side. For India, Rohit Sharma remains ODI captain even after retiring from T20 internationals last year, with Suryakumar Yadav the T20I captain. Enthusiasm for the game remains undimmed As ODI captain, Root would be available for every game, perhaps barring the series in New Zealand – minimising the disruption of England having to rebuild their 50-over side with their leader often absent. Unlike Brook, Root does not have an IPL deal; he has also not played a T20 international since 2019. Root could continue to rest during T20Is, with Brook's breaks largely during ODIs. While Root has spoken of the personal toil of being Test captain, doing the ODI skipper alone would not come with anything like the same scrutiny. And, just as Smith has found captaining Australia again, Root might enjoy the chance to do the job afresh – learning from his previous stint, yet free from the relentless pressure of being Test captain. Most importantly, Root has a deep understanding of the 50-over game to impart to the next generation. He was England's top scorer during the 2019 World Cup and played perhaps his greatest ODI innings during the agonising defeat by Afghanistan. Root grasps the essence of 50-over batting – how to marry quick scoring with minimising risk; he now has a higher ODI strike rate than Kevin Pietersen. No matter that he is 34, Root's recent returns show a man whose enthusiasm for the game is undimmed; he has made his intentions to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup clear. England could then allow Brook to take on the T20 captaincy, without being tasked with both white-ball jobs in addition to his role as likely next Test captain too. In the short-term, the result would be three captains of the three different national sides. This model did not particularly work when Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad led in the different formats in 2011-12, But, as Australia and India show, the unrelenting schedule is forcing countries to embrace curious models; their success is determined less by the structure than the personnel involved. The characters of Stokes, Root and Brook, and their personal closeness to each other, might just make a split model work. Even for a regime with a penchant for surprises, asking Root to lead England again would be a shock. But if England want to avoid overburdening Brook with both white-ball formats, Root has the temperament and cricketing nous to answer the call.
The National
09-02-2025
- General
- The National
‘I feel recharged': Dubai's old town residents thrilled by car ban plan
An ambitious plan to turn several historic Dubai neighbourhoods into car-free zones could significantly improve quality of life, residents and experts have told The National. The Super Block project, unveiled on Thursday, aims to transform key areas into pro-pedestrian areas with more greenery, shared public spaces and greater opportunities for social interactions. While more details on when the plan will be implemented are yet to be revealed, historic and residential areas such as Al Fahidi, Abu Hail, Al Karama and Al Quoz Creative Zone will be the first to benefit from the initiative. Gulshan Kavarana, an art teacher who works with Emirati artists in a studio in Tashkeel, Al Fahidi, welcomed the move. She said it would draw more people to the heritage district on Dubai Creek which is home to historic houses, art galleries and museums. 'Tourists are here from 7am and after that it's non-stop with tourists coming in throughout the day,' she told The National. 'I hope the new plan makes the walking areas really cool so we get visitors all through the summer. Then we could get tourists the whole year round in to this space and our studio.' Ms Kavarana, a special needs advocate, also called for ramps to be built in the planned pedestrian zones to enable easy access for people with disabilities, the elderly and families with young children in strollers. 'They are making an effort to renovate Al Fahidi, and when they add ramps it will be amazing to access the villas that are old,' she said. 'We have ramps built in our studio so it's easy for people to move around. It should be the same not just in this area but all across Dubai.' Al Karama is already known as a lively shopping district. Huge murals adorn the walls, people sit at cafes sipping karak chai, while some residents play cricket and badminton. It is hoped the plan could encourage this and increase the number of green areas. 'I have always felt Karama has fewer parks,' said Dr Madhu Mathews, who owns a dental clinic in the neighbourhood. 'We don't have a walking or running track nearby that is continuous. It's very important to have pedestrian zones and also green areas. When I go to the park, I feel recharged – the greenery makes a big difference.' Dr Mathews' clinic is a seven-minute walk from his home, but he usually runs in a park near the Clock Tower that is about 15 minutes away by car. Parking is an issue in the Karama district. Spaces fill up quickly in the mixed-use area of office and residential buildings. 'If there is multistorey parking then people can access many areas that are a 10 to 15-minute walk away,' Dr Mathews said. 'Patients don't mind walking if [there are] clean pedestrian paths. People actually appreciate it now if you ask them to walk. They like walking if the area is well maintained.' Road safety and public transport experts also welcomed the plan. Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, said it was 'fantastic'. 'Traffic is building up and people feel concerned,' he said. 'The initiative ticks a lot of boxes such as quality of life, sustainability, reducing emissions, taking vehicles off the road and increasing road safety.' He said the last report from his group showed that UAE motorists appreciate road infrastructure improvements in Dubai, but overall concern over dangerous driving and commute times has increased. Business still needs to be supplied with goods and cities may never be totally car-free, Mr Edelmann noted, but the plan is more about creating a different vision. 'It is about a high-level vision that cascades down to further projects,' he said. 'There is nothing wrong with aspiration.' Paulo Anciaes, a senior researcher in transport at University College London, said in most cities where this type of policy was implemented, there was a 'dramatic increase in pedestrian flows and in the use of streets as social spaces'. 'Pedestrian-friendly areas are also good for business, because the higher influx of people leads to an increase in revenue for local shops, restaurants and cafes,' Mr Anciaes said. He said these policies did not imply banning all cars and he pointed to a similar initiative in Barcelona, which studies have shown could prevent 700 premature deaths each year by reducing air pollution, noise, heat and by increasing physical activity. He cautioned that good public transport links were often required in residential neighbourhoods to encourage people away from car use. It is also important not to divert traffic into other areas as drivers use alternative routes, or cruise to find a parking space. 'This has been the case of some (but not all) traffic restriction policies in some residential areas in the UK,' said. 'Pedestrian-friendly shopping streets also need to provide something attractive in order to be competitive,' he said. 'For example, some pedestrian shopping streets in US cities declined because they could not compete with large shopping malls, which provided better parking space and more attractive spaces to walk.' The car-free move comes just weeks after Dubai unveiled major plans to become a 'pedestrian-friendly' city. The Dubai Walk project includes more than 3,000km of new walkways and 110 new bridges and tunnels. 'There is no going back in terms of a car-centric city, but we can reduce the footprint and impact of cars … by connecting neighbourhoods and getting people to walk,' Apostolos Kyriazis, associate professor of architecture and urbanism at Abu Dhabi University, told The National at the time. 'City authorities are trying to change tactics,' said Prof Kyriazis. 'More and more are trying to turn the priority to ones that need it – such as walking and cycling. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of these cities.'
