Buttler: Losses will not change England’s plans

CONSECUTIVE Test, Twenty20 and ODI series defeats would be enough for most cricket nations to ring the changes, but not England, according to ODI stand-in captain Jos Buttler.

India captain Virat Kohli said after claiming the ODIs with a seven-run win in a tense decider last Sunday (28) that it had been “sweet” to beat old rivals England in every contest in the three-month tour.

Kohli predicted “exciting times” ahead for his side who are now expected to depose England as the world’s top ODI side in the ICC rankings before they host the Twenty20 World Cup this year.

Buttler, who stood in for injured captain Eoin Morgan, said England’s rivals should not read too much into the defeats. “We have been a brilliant side for a long period of time now.”

England believe that exposing new players to India’s sun-baked pitches will benefit the team during the T20 tournament in October and again in 2023 when they defend their 50-over World Cup title in India.

The unbeaten 95 by number eight Sam Curran and two aggressive innings by one-day debutant Liam Livingstone caught the eye of England’s management. “Any time we expand the player pool, that creates competition, creates better performances and creates the upward trajectory we are always after,” said Buttler. The England wicketkeeperbatsman said Curran had been put in a unique position coming in so low in the order and nearly securing an unlikely win.

“Many guys are never really exposed to that situation in their whole career so he will take great learning from that,” said Buttler. “He is still only 22 and the scope of where he can take his game to is massive. We are all very excited for him.”

Livingstone also impressed with his unbeaten 27 in England’s sixwicket win last Thursday (26) followed by his score of 36 last Sunday.

“It is brilliant to see someone like Liam come in and play in the fashion that we would like people to play in. It shows that we are doing things right, the message is getting through to people and we will continue to play in that way,” Buttler added.