Buttler: We haven’t had time to prepare properly
JOS BUTTLER vented his frustration at England’s schedule after the one- day series decider against South Africa was abandoned because of rain yesterday.
The third ODI at Headingley was England’s ninth white-ball game in 18 days, with three more T20s to come against South Africa this week. And the England captain insisted that the lack of time to train and work with the squad in between games has proved a struggle.
‘There’s no getting past the fact that the schedule makes it tough. It’s also a frustration of mine that we don’t have any training days. Those are really important for team cohesion, the energy within the group, the fielding drills and the camaraderie around the guys without the pressures of a game,’ said Buttler.
His comments came at the end of a week in which Test skipper Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket stating that players ‘are not cars that can be filled up with petrol’.
Buttler added: ‘A lot of the time around training is when you can do some of your best work, being able to have good conversations and having a feel for where the group is at and not just always being in game mode. To get the highest standard of cricket possible, you need to prepare properly. Hopefully that’s something we can look at going forward.
‘As a new captain, it would be nice to have that time to bed in and do that work around your players and with your coaches. That has been a frustration of mine to be honest.’
Just 27.4 overs of play were possible in Leeds. South Africa were 159 for two in the 28th over with Quinton de Kock unbeaten on 92 when a second rain delay forced the match to be abandoned, robbing Buttler and England of the chance of a first series win under their new skipper.
‘ It’s a big shame for everyone involved,’ Buttler said. ‘It would have been great to get a full game in and have a proper decider.’
Buttler, who lost consecutive ODI and T20 series against India, will now be hoping for success in the threematch T20 series against South Africa, starting on Wednesday in Bristol.