Jos Buttler Eyes New Era After Injury Return

Jos Buttler remains determined to lead England’s white-ball teams into a new era after concerns earlier this year about losing the captaincy. England failed to defend their titles at the 50-over and T20 World Cups. As a result, the board dismissed Matthew Mott as head coach in July. Brendon McCullum, the Test head coach will take over as coach of the white-ball teams starting in January. Buttler, 34 will continue as captain.

Buttler, who returned from a calf injury to join the T20 series in the West Indies admitted he thought Rob Key the managing director of men’s cricket might sack him as captain. However, Buttler emphasized that Key supported his leadership and believed he was the right person to lead the team forward. Buttler stated he wanted to be captain not out of obligation but because he felt he was the best choice for the role.

England will start their five-match T20 series against the West Indies in Barbados before moving to St Lucia. Buttler and Mott led England to victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup. However, England performed poorly at the 2023 50-over World Cup winning only three out of nine matches. Earlier this year, England also lost an ODI series to the West Indies.

After spending four months recovering from injury, Buttler now aims to guide England’s white-ball reset. He expressed a strong desire to help develop the next generation of players. Buttler also shared his excitement about collaborating with McCullum whose influence on the England Test team has been substantial.

Buttler will play as a specialist batter for the T20 series while Phil Salt will take up wicketkeeping duties. The West Indies have named their squad for the first two T20s with Matthew Forde replacing Alzarri Joseph.

England T20 squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Michael Pepper, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt (wk), Reece Topley, John Turner.

West Indies T20 squad (for first two matches): 

Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope (wk), Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.