Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JOS THE SAME
Buttler insists England can win World T20 without superstars Stokes and Archer as Livingston and Mills will step up in style
BY
JOS BUTTLER is confident England can overcome the loss of two “superstars of the game” to win the T20 World Cup.
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer played huge parts in England’s thrilling 50-over World Cup final triumph in 2019.
Stokes is continuing his indefinite break to prioritise his mental health, while Archer has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a stress fracture in his right elbow.
But England’s vice-captain knows others such as Liam Livingstone (below, left) and Tymal Mills (below, right) are ready to step up.
Buttler said: “Any side in the world is going to miss those guys, they’re superstars of the game. But I’m really excited with the squad we have.
“You look at the opportunities Liam was presented with this summer and the way he’s taken his game from those T20 series and The Hundred. The confidence that he will take into the World Cup is fantastic.
“I enjoyed watching The Hundred and seeing Tymal operate again. We’ve seen him a bit before in an England shirt and it’s a fantastic story for him to be back at a World Cup.
“That left-arm angle and extreme pace will be great and he’s got a pretty good slower ball as well. He’s a great guy to have in your squad who can pose a lot of problems to the oppostion. He has been performing brilliantly well and he’ll come into that tournament with confidence.”
Stokes shared a 110-run partnership with Buttler in the 2019 ODI final while Archer was trusted with the Super Over that won the game.
When asked if there would be extra pressure on the squad to perform without the duo, Buttler, speaking at an event at Sixes Cricket Club, replied: “Not at all.
“I’m always desperate to be there at the nuts and bolts of the game and be at the coalface, so I want to perform for the team and I think there are a number of guys that are exactly the same.
“You talk about guys who haven’t got that experience yet but there are a lot of people they can call on and discuss that with.
“It’s a little bit different with the advent of the franchise tournaments so guys will have been in high-pressure situations in the IPL, the Hundred, the Big Bash. In an international tournament, they’ll have those experiences to call upon.” Buttler is also comfortable with the fact there will expectation upon England once the tournament begins.
“We’re certainly one of the favourites, we’re a brilliant team,” he added. “We will miss Ben and Jofra, but you still look down that list and there are some real match-winners in our side.
“There’s other fantastic teams – India and West Indies in particular who are always really strong. West Indies have a lot of experience in T20 cricket and a lot of six-hitting capability which is quite nice to have in your team.
“But we’re a really good team and we’ll focus a lot on ourselves and playing to the best of our ability. If we do that, we can go a long way.”