‘We won’t be at our best’: Buttler
THE enthusiasm England’s Sam Billings mustered for Thursday’s opening one-day clash with Australia will need to be mirrored by his energysapped teammates after World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler conceded it “would be a challenge” for his team to be at its best.
Given just three days of celebrations following Sunday’s successful T20 World Cup final, several English players will need to back up in the first of three ODIs slotted into what Moeen Ali called “horrible” scheduling.
England will rest some of
the seven World Cup winners in the 15-man squad, but plenty, including Buttler and Ali, will have to front up at Adelaide Oval for Thursday’s match, the first of three that are not part of qualifying for next year’s 50-over World Cup.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” a weary-looking Buttler said on Wednesday morning.
“There’s no point saying all the right things, that we’ll be at our best.”
The tourists will also be without World Cup matchwinner Ben Stokes, who has retired from ODI cricket, but man of the tournament Sam Curran is likely to play. Billings, who wasn’t part of the T20 World Cup squad, is set to get his chance along with opener Jason Roy, who was dropped after a dismal home summer, and James Vince.
All three batters have had significant Big Bash experience, giving them an element of local knowledge,
Despite the timing and the relevance of the series, Billings was adamant there was still much to play for, particularly for players looking to cement their spots ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“It’s England-Australia in Australia. It’s not a friendly, is it?” he said.
“We’re great mates with a lot of those Aussie guys, but when it comes onto the pitch, you want to beat them.
“It’s always a great rivalry and always great games, regardless of the format.
“We’re really looking forward to it.”
Australian captain Pat Cummins meanwhile said his elevation to Australia’s Test and now one-day captaincy – and his desire to be “mentally fresh” for every game – was key to him opting out of the Indian Premier League.
After declaring he was over a bout of gastro that left him bed-ridden at home and ready to start his ODI captaincy against England in Adelaide on Thursday, Cummins said the physical and mental workload in front of him demanded he find time for a break.
That meant skipping the IPL, like three-format teammate Mitch Starc, with the Australians staring at 100 days of cricket before next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.
“There’s just so much cricket in the next 12 months really, (that) was the deciding factor, we’ve got 15 Test matches, hopefully, we make the Test championship final,” Cummins said on Wednesday.