In his first press conference since handing over the keys to England’s white-ball players, coach Brendon McCullum revealed that one of his main goals was to keep captain Jos Buttler happy.
“He’s been a bit miserable at times,” McCullum said of Buttler, noting how distraught the skipper was when England lost both World Cup titles in the space of nine months.
The 50-over trophy was surrendered in sad fashion at the end of 2023 with a group stage exit in India, before a semi-final defeat in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in June this year.
“What I want from Jos is for him to enjoy the next few years and play with a smile on his face.” added McCullum in September. “My job is to push him towards it, to get the best out of him.”
Buttler not keeping wicket for England in West Indies T20 series
McCullum, who does not officially begin his role as limited-overs supremo until January, appears to have got his wish.
Buttler, finally shaking off the calf injury that kept him sidelined since England’s exit from the T20 World Cup, was the picture of happiness in the Caribbean.
Buttler is playing a blistering innings in Barbados
Victories, of course, will do that. England have two of as many games against the West Indies in the T20 series, and so it will be. A riotous 83 from 45 ballswhich the captain scored in the second match in Barbados on Sunday.
But with Butler, there’s a difference.
Not just in his batting and fielding positions — he dropped to No. 3 to allow Will Jacks to open and hand the gloves to Phil Salt — but also in his demeanor.
He actually looks like he’s having fun.
Speaking before the series, Butler said“As long as I play, and hopefully for a long time, I just want to be present and really, really enjoy this part of my cricket.
“I don’t need to defend or hang on to anything, I just want this to be an incredibly fulfilling time in my life. When you get injured, it makes you realize how desperately you want to come back.”
Buttler smoked eight fours and six sixes in his innings of 83 off 45 balls against the West Indies.
The West Indies bowlers must have wanted Buttler not to come back against them as he smoked eight fours and six sixes at Kensington Oval on Sunday night.
This piece would obviously not have been written if Buttler had Aqeal Hossain on his stumps and been dismissed for back-to-back ducks.Dropping the first ball of Saturday’s opener when Gudakesh Mothie screamed and took a catch at deep third. Butler certainly wasn’t smiling then.
But after Hossain’s delivery missed his leg-stump by a whisker and the England captain started with a slight scratch, the whole game was on display.
The buckets, the sweetly hit sixes, the magical skill, the things that made him the greatest white baller of all time for his country and rank him with the best anywhere.
If Buttler is able to bat with even greater freedom in this ‘fulfillment’ phase of his career, England should reap the rewards and opposition bowling attacks should suffer.
The only time Buttler’s smile disappeared was when he fell 17 runs short of his second T20 international century.
To hold or not to hold, and should Butler not punt on 3rd down?
Buttler certainly enjoyed more freedom in the field against the West Indies.
In the first T20, he took an excellent catch at slip and cover, although he erased his copybook 24 hours later when he let the ball slip through him and bounced for four.Bowler Jofra Archer was far from amused.
What Buttler perhaps loses in lbw and behind-the-back cues by not keeping, he gains in the field when it comes to talking to the bowlers and, in his words, “making last-minute calls”.
It was a move influenced by McCullum, who himself gave up the gloves towards the end of his career due to back pain.
Phil Salt is wearing the gloves for England
We still don’t know if this switch will be permanent for Butler, and the same goes for his drop to No. 3 in the batting order, with both attempts to be revisited at the end of the series.
Buttler’s stunning innings in Barbados at the weekend, however, came almost as an opener; he was the second ball after Salt to hit a hundred in the first T20 and bag a golden duck.
Additionally, the Jacks have yet to establish themselves at the top of the order, dropping 17 and 38 in both outings.
In a short format like T20, you want your best players to bowl as many balls as possible and England’s best player is Buttler.
Calls to hold positions and fight back are on the line as well as on the agenda how to fix England’s ODI woes with the 50-over side having lost 13 of their last 20 games.
Even if some wise old heads return for the ICC Champions Trophy early next year (Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, maybe even Jonny Bairstow), there’s no guarantee that anything will be fixed. Just look at how 2023 turned out the world championship.
But for now, England’s focus is on securing a first T20I series win in two years, which they will do if they win any of their final three games against the West Indies in St Lucia this week.
You feel they have a very good chance with Butler adjusting and shooting and smiling.
