England’s head coach Brendon McCullum acknowledged his players’ lack of confidence during their final group-stage fixture of the ongoing Champions Trophy against South Africa in Karachi on Saturday (March 1).

The Three Lions lost the match by seven wickets and ended their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign winless. Earlier in the tournament, the Jos Buttler-led side suffered defeats at the hands of Australia and Afghanistan.

Reflecting on the debacle, McCullum insisted that the 0-3 defeat in the ODI series against India leading up to the marquee event had not impacted their morale.

“No I felt India was a very good preparation for such a tournament. Yes we were beaten comfortably by India but it was good preparation for a major tournament," McCullum said in a press conference.

McCullum admitted that his team came into the ICC showpiece with high hopes of making a strong finish, but their performance was disappointing.

“But we were very poor and it is very disappointing. But we saw tonight that we couldn’t withstand the pressure and players lacked confidence," he stated.

McCullum emphasized that England had a lot of work to do, stressing the need to find ways to ensure the players step onto the field with confidence.

“Give me a couple of weeks. I will be meeting with Rob Key and ECB officials to find out the best way forward and make sure we can see improvement in white ball cricket and we are very thorough about it."

Asked about the next England captain and whether separate captains would be appointed for T20 and ODI cricket, McCullum said he would have an answer after a couple of weeks.

He also refrained from commenting on whether players like Sam Curran and Sam Billings, who were not part of the Champions Trophy squad, could be considered for the role due to their experience.

It was a dismal end to Jos Buttler’s ODI captaincy. Buttler had relinquished the role following England’s loss to Afghanistan.

McCullum said: “It is natural how he is feeling as he cares so much and is sad he couldn’t get the best out of the guys. But it gives us an opportunity to move forward and find ways to do well as per the style of cricket we play. Jos remains a big player for us."

McCullum noted that players like Harry Brook and Jamie Smith need to learn lessons from the tournament and not allow the experience to affect their confidence.

“My main concern is to ensure no negativity bleeds into our big test cricket summer and at same time ensure guys who have been successful before their confidence levels remain high."

The England coach also admitted they had come to India and into the tournament stacked with batters and a reliance on fast bowlers and might have not got it right but one has to have conviction in his plans.

“Look we have to learn hard lessons from here and in the next few weeks I have confidence we will work it out because of the talent we have in English cricket not just here but otherwise also."

(With PTI Inputs)