Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has warned Jos Buttler of serious repercussions as captain and player should he endure another failed ICC tournament after Lahore horror against Australia. England broke several records batting first on a highway Gaddafi Stadium track, posting the highest team total (351/8) in Champions Trophy history, yet they lost the match by five wickets.

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Australia completed the chase with 15 balls remaining, with their gloveman Josh Inglis making headlines for his maiden ODI hundred, an unbeaten 120 off 86 balls, hitting eight fours and six sixes. Handy contributions from Matthew Short (63) and Alex Carey (69), alongside a late blitz from Glenn Maxwell (32* off 15 balls), saw Australia complete the highest-successful run chase in ICC events, their second-biggest ever.

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Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Hussain didn’t complain much, considering the conditions (wet outfield), but addressed Buttler’s situation at the helm, saying that though England played fine on the day, scoring a massive team total, Buttler must pull up his socks and his team’s too before it gets too late for everyone.

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"There are a lot of good things today. From a lot of the performances I've seen in bilateral series, their win percentage has dropped to 29 per cent," Hussain said on Sky Sports after the game. 

"They are way down from where they need to be. They have played poorly but today they played good cricket, and it will hurt because they would have felt at times today, they could win,” he continued.

The ex-England skipper shared his thoughts on Buttler’s position in the team, saying, "But coming up against Australia, Buttler will be down, he is under pressure; he cannot afford another poor tournament.

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"He will have to lift himself, his own game; if Buttler and Liam Livingstone finished properly, they may have got 380, and that might have been a bridge too far for Australia.

"It's a very difficult period for Buttler, that's the game, that's being captain,” Hussain added.

Difference between both teams

While England was without Jacob Bethell for their tournament opener, Australia missed at least five first-team players, including the pace trio of regular captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. However, despite both teams having the same bowling attack template, Hussain explained where the difference lay. 

"However, the difference between the two sides was that Steve Smith and his bowlers did it better.

"How many of the Australian bowlers had a bad day? They all kept Australia in the game. The problem with that is if one bowler has a bad day, then you have nowhere to go as a captain. So Carse has a bad day, and Archer is on and off the field.

"Australia's gamble paid off, but England, with that balance of the side, you can't afford that to happen,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Australia will face South Africa next in Rawalpindi, while England faces Afghanistan.

(With inputs from agencies)