England White-Ball Captain Excited by Future After 3-1 T20I Series Win in Caribbean
Jos Buttler, England’s white-ball captain, expressed his enthusiasm about the team’s future following their recent 3-1 T20I series victory over the West Indies in the Caribbean.
Buttler addressed the uncertainty surrounding the potential return of Ben Stokes and Joe Root to the England white-ball setup for the upcoming Champions Trophy, set to commence in two months. While he acknowledged that their inclusion is not guaranteed, the captain hopes the star players retain their ambitions in the limited-overs format.
“I don’t know exactly,” Buttler said when asked about Stokes and Root’s involvement. “Obviously Brendon McCullum is coming in full-time and he’ll be in touch with the guys.”
The England selector, Luke Wright, had previously stated that there was “no reason” why Root couldn’t feature in the major tournament, though the batter himself has not publicly discussed his desire to return to the format.
Buttler was pleased with the performances of the players who featured in the recent series win, noting that the “young players have done themselves no harm at all” and that there are others outside the current squad who will have aspirations to be part of the white-ball setup.
The captain was particularly impressed with the display of Saqib Mahmood, who was named Player of the Series after picking up nine wickets across the four matches. Buttler praised Mahmood’s resilience and hard work, having recently recovered from his own injury layoff.
Reflecting on the series victory, Buttler said:
“To come and beat the West Indies here is a great effort. We’ve had some close series against them over the last few years which has been good. I’m really pleased for everyone in the dressing room who put in the performances we did to get the results we got.”
The England captain also commented on his own experience of captaining the side from the field, rather than behind the stumps, which he found enjoyable and helped him gain a different perspective on the game.
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