Former England cricketer Neil Fairbrother was visibly emotional following Afghanistan's victory over England in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which resulted in England's elimination from the tournament. In a crucial match held in Lahore on Wednesday, Afghanistan triumphed by eight runs, marking their second win against England in an ICC 50-over competition. After the game, renowned Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram reached out to Fairbrother, who expressed his feelings by stating, "I wept."

Akram felt it necessary to remind his "good friend" that it was merely a game and that Afghanistan's success against England in conditions favourable to them was always a possibility. 

"The manner in which they are performing must be quite disheartening for cricket enthusiasts in England. I just messaged my dear friend Neil Fairbrother, and he candidly told me, 'I wept.' I responded, 'Hold on, my friend, it is just a game, and this outcome was always a possibility,'" Akram shared during an appearance on the Ten Sports program 'Dressing Room.'

Akram and Fairbrother have a long-standing friendship, having played together for many years in the Lancashire County team. Fairbrother, a distinguished left-handed batsman, represented England in 10 Test matches and 75 One Day Internationals. He was a domestic cricket icon, participating in an impressive 366 first-class matches and amassing over 20,000 runs, which included 47 centuries.

Akram also voiced his concerns regarding England's team selection. "When you examine the England squad, you will notice there are only three specialist batters. Despite having eight specialist bowlers, they still lacked a fifth bowler. Joe Root was utilized for bowling. Can someone clarify why they assembled a squad with an abundance of bowlers?" the former Pakistan captain remarked.

Buttler to review captaincy future after England's Champions Trophy exit

A lackluster performance from England, with the exception of Joe Root who scored a century, resulted in an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan. In pursuit of 326 runs for victory, England was dismissed for 317, while Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran delivered an impressive innings of 177 and pacer Azmatullah Omarzai achieved a five-wicket haul.

"I prefer not to make any emotional remarks at this moment. However, I believe that my colleagues and I at the top must explore all options," stated Buttler during the post-match presentation regarding his future as the captain of the England white-ball team.

This marks the third consecutive unsuccessful ICC tournament for England under Buttler's leadership, following the 2023 World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas.

England had previously endured a disheartening 69-run defeat to Afghanistan during the group stage of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in New Delhi.

"It's truly disappointing. I felt we had opportunities in the match. It was another excellent game of cricket, but it's disheartening to end up on the losing side," Buttler remarked, noting that his team remained competitive until the 48th over when they lost the wicket of Jamie Overton, who was performing exceptionally well towards the end.

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