New Delhi: England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler has conceded that his side has not performed at the expected level as they continue to struggle on their tour of India.
With six defeats in seven matches, including a 4-1 loss in the T20I series and back-to-back ODI defeats, England now faces the threat of a 50-over series whitewash in Ahmedabad before shifting focus to the ICC Champions Trophy.
Buttler spoke about England’s shortcomings on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast and said, “There’s a multitude of reasons why we haven’t played as well as we’d have liked over a period of time, but I don’t want to make any excuses.”
“Ultimately, we have to play better. You come up against the best sides, try and build the team, the familiarity within ourselves, the partnerships in batting and bowling, the collective effort in the field, and just raise it. We haven’t been good enough for long enough in periods of games to get the results. That’s been the main thing, and that’s what we’ve got to try and work out how to do.
As much as you try and say the results don’t matter or try and take pressure off players like that, of course, they do. That’s why we’re all here. We want to play games and win games for England and ultimately win tournaments. No one wants to win as much as I do or the other side does. But we’re very realistic about where we’re at as a team at the minute,” he added.
Buttler further praised the impact of head coach Brendon McCullum, who recently took charge of England’s white-ball setup.
“It’s been great to work with Baz. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with him and getting to know him and letting him lead the team. One of his great strengths is keeping the guys pretty level and creating a really good atmosphere.
“So although the results haven’t been there, which is disappointing, he keeps pushing us in the right direction, staying very committed to the style of cricket we want to play. Everyone’s just very aware you’ve got to do it better against the top teams. We’ve got a bit of a relationship already. I’ve known Baz for a while, played against him, got to know him pretty well. So that’s always a nice base to start from,” he said.
England faces a challenging Champions Trophy group, with matches against Afghanistan and South Africa following their opener against Australia. However, Buttler said that their struggles in India underline the depth of talent available to the hosts.
(IANS)
