England did not know qualification rules and may miss Champions Trophy

England’s shambolic World Cup has put their place at the 2025 Champions Trophy in serious doubt and the fact they were unaware of the qualifying process summed up the hapless nature of this campaign.

One-day coach Matthew Mott admitted after defeat to India that he only learned “an hour and a half ago” that England had to finish in the top eight of the World Cup to play in the Champions Trophy, due to be held in Pakistan in February-March 2025.

England are bottom of the table on two points with three games to go. The top seven teams plus hosts Pakistan qualify automatically for the Champions Trophy (Pakistan are sixth at the moment) one of four teams are on four points that also included Netherlands and Afghanistan who are still to play each other.

Realistically, England have to win two of their last three games to have any hope of finishing in the top eight and even that might not be enough with their run rate so poor.

The International Cricket Council altered the qualification rules in March 2021 but there was no media release and most teams at this tournament were unaware of the rule change. England found out only when alerted by the media on Sunday.

“It gives us a lot of focus that we need to make sure we don’t just turn up,” said Mott. “We’ve got to turn up and play and win those games. And we’re obviously up against some good teams in those last few games as well. So, that’s plenty of motivation for us to pick ourselves back up off the canvas and keep trying to throw punches.”

When asked whether he should have known about the qualifying rules, Mott said: “Well, the ICC do change the rules quite a bit with qualification and to be honest I don’t think it would affect in any way the way we’ve played in this tournament so it’s not a big deal.”

The Champions Trophy has not been played since 2017, when it was held in England. But it has been resurrected for 2025 to fill a hole in the calendar between Twenty20 and 50 overs World Cups and the World Test championship final. At the moment eight teams are due to play in Pakistan over three weeks but that could change if India refuses to travel.