Buttler insists England ‘still a very good side’ after series loss in India
Jos Buttler insists England's one-day side have not lost their golden touch after Sam Curran's heroics narrowly failed to salvage a moraleboosting win in India.
England's 50-over side went more than three-and-a-half years without losing a multimatch series, famously winning the 2019 World Cup along the way, but have now come off second best in each of their last two attempts.
They lost 2-1 at home to Australia at the end of last summer and went down by the same scoreline in Pune after Curran's career-best 95 not out was not enough to prevent a seven-run defeat in the decider.
England have made a habit of winning from unlikely positions and finding a way to clinch pressure moments in the recent past but came up short against a target of 330 as the ODI leg went the same way as the Twenty20s and Test that preceded it.
The XI was missing its captain Eoin Morgan, on the injured list alongside Jofra Archer, while Joe Root and Chris Woakes were also rested, allowing stand-in skipper Buttler to put the setback in perspective.
"We've been a brilliant side for a long time now, I wouldn't read too much into it," he said.
"We've lost two series now but it's two series in the last 11. We are still a very good side and we're expanding the talent pool with a few guys missing and few other guys getting
opportunities. It's a long cycle looking ahead to the next World Cup (in 2023) and of course you want to learn and win at the same time. We're disappointed when we don't do that but there's a big picture. I think we're doing things right.
"We play the game to win matches and win series and we haven't quite managed to do that, but there will be some great learning taken from the tour and some great exposure
for players in this part of the world."
Nobody will have learned more than Curran, who arrived at number eight with 162 still needed and left his side just a couple of boundaries shy of a stunning comeback. In the process he set off into uncharted territory, having previously boasted a top-score of 15 in ODIS and 57 in all professional limited-overs cricket.
It will go down as one of his most dramatic contributions
yet in an England shirt but his competitive edge would not allow him to look past the final result.
"My initial feeling sitting here is we lost the game and lost the series," he said.
"I'm really happy with how I played but I am someone who loves winning and our whole team loves winning, so to get so close is really annoying."
Buttler was able to cast Curran's efforts in a more appropriate light, adding: "It took a
fantastic effort from Sam to take us as close as we got, it was outstanding.”
India captain Virat Kohli, who had the satisfaction of leading all three series wins as he got the better of Root, Morgan and Buttler, was a happy man at the close.
"These are very exciting times ahead for us," he said. "It has been an amazing season for us and we wanted to finish on a high. This tour has been sweet, winning every series.”