Jos Buttler, the England captain, finds himself in the midst of a ruinous World Cup campaign. Their hopes of defending the title are about to evaporate, after a crushing eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. They are ninth on the table with just a solitary win from five matches. And the skipper is willing to take some of the blame himself.
Buttler expressed his dismay, saying, “Obviously, incredibly disappointing and incredibly frustrating. We’re not just losing. We’re losing by a long way and playing well short of our best. It’s a huge disappointment. It’s never for a lack of effort, hard work or preparation. Look around the room, it’s not a lack of talent. We’ve got a lot of fantastic cricketers. It’s a huge frustration that this tournament has gone nowhere near the way we wanted it to.”
The skipper was willing to take responsibility for the debacle. “If there was one golden egg that we were missing, then you’d hope to see that. But there is no secret, no one else can score your runs or take your wickets. That starts with the captain, and I’ve been a long way short of my best. As a leader, you want to lead through your own performance, and I’ve not been able to do that. You get on the plan to come to India in a really good position as a team, everything going to plan, and it’s just not worked at all.”
Asked about his future as the captain, Buttler responded, “It’s a huge low point. You’re always questioning, as captain, how you can get the best out of your players and get the team moving in the right direction. I have a lot of confidence and belief in myself as a captain and as a player. But if you’re asking if I should still be captain of the team, that’s a question for the guys above me.”
This World Cup journey for England has been marred by inconsistency and numerous changes in the line-up. Buttler admitted that lack of stability in selection has been a significant issue. “Selection is something you want to be consistent with, to build that trust and longevity. But selection is our problem at the moment. Performances have been lacking. Whoever has been in the team in this tournament has been short of his best.”
As for the impact of this loss on the players’ confidence, Buttler spoke of the resilience within the team. “There are a lot of really experienced, tough cricketers in the room, who have been through a lot and are confident people. They’re tough people, and you don’t become a bad player or team overnight. That’s what’s been so frustrating. We’ve been so far short of the standards we set ourselves.”