Jos Buttler ‘guilty’ over England’s ‘dicey’ 2027 ODI World Cup qualification scenario

Jos Buttler for England [Source: X]

Amid England’s poor run in ODIs, Jos Buttler admitted that he feels a sense of guilt over the team’s automatic qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup now being under a cloud.

For context, England’s embarrassing record over the past few months and years has become a major hindrance to their chances of qualifying for the showpiece event, as marked by Jos Buttler, which is set to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Jos Buttler opens up on England’s risky spot in 2027 World Cup

Just ahead of their series-levelling win over Sri Lanka, England had lost 15 of their last 20 ODIs and had also suffered 11 consecutive away defeats since November 2024.

Reflecting on England’s declining temperament, Buttler said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast that it is not a pleasant feeling to know the team now has to win a certain number of matches to qualify for the World Cup.

“It’s not actually a very nice feeling that, to be thinking we need to win X amount of games just to qualify for the World Cup. I’m sure there are permutations and someone could tell us, but I don’t know what they are.

I feel a bit guilty for this, obviously, having been captain for a while when we didn’t get the results we wanted to end up in the rankings where we are,” Buttler said.

Buttler admitted his guilt during his captaincy stint, as the team failed to achieve consistent success. Nevertheless, he struck a positive note and stressed that England must ensure they secure automatic qualification for the tournament.

“We just need to concentrate on winning games of cricket, winning series, get ourselves up those rankings which is where we want to take the team to and make sure we qualify automatically for that World Cup,” Buttler added.

Jos Buttler’s stint as England captain

Notably, Jos Buttler served as England’s full-time ODI captain from June 30, 2022, to February 28, 2025, before stepping down from the role. During his tenure, Buttler led England at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, where the team endured a disappointing campaign and failed to progress beyond the group stage.

Following that, and after an early exit from the Champions Trophy 2025, Buttler resigned as captain, a period that also saw England suffer setbacks in their win-loss ratio and slip a few places in the ICC ODI rankings.

For context, as per the latest ICC ODI rankings, England currently stands in eighth position, alarmingly below Afghanistan, who are placed seventh, while India continue to occupy the top spot as the number one ODI team in the world.

What will happen if England fail to qualify directly?

For clarity, teams qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup either through automatic qualification based on ICC rankings or via hosting rights. The hosts and co-hosts qualify automatically, while the top eight-ranked teams as of the cut-off date in March 2027 will earn direct berths to the tournament.

If England fail to secure direct qualification, they will be forced to compete in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier to claim one of the remaining four spots.

In that scenario, England’s path would shift from automatic entry to a multi-stage process, as the qualifier is a 10-team tournament with only the top four advancing to the World Cup.

Apart from reputational damage, this route could also create logistical and scheduling challenges for the England cricket team.

Notably, England’s next ODI assignment is scheduled against India during the India tour of England in July 2026.

Before that, following the third ODI against Sri Lanka, the team faces an almost six-month gap without ODI cricket, further intensifying concerns over their qualification prospects for the 2027 World Cup.