Jos Buttler dismisses England captaincy doubts after West Indies series losses - ‘Desire still burns strongly’

Despite suffering ODI and T20 series defeats against the West Indies, Jos Buttler insisted he still has “huge motivation” to captain England’s white-ball teams.

England fought back from 2-0 down in the five-match T20 series to set up a decider before losing by four wickets after collapsing to 132 all out with the bat.

It followed a 2-1 ODI defeat on their Caribbean tour, as well as a dismal World Cup campaign in which England failed to qualify out of the group.

Despite that, Buttler, whose own performances have come in for criticism, remained defiant about his leadership.

Asked if he has questioned his ability to captain England, he said: “Not really. I’ve had some low moments, for sure. It was a huge disappointment in my career, that World Cup that’s just gone.

"But after you let the dust settle there’s huge motivation and determination to have another crack and just keep going. That desire still burns strongly.

“I think you’re always trying to learn. It’s important you learn and get better and try not to make the same mistakes. It’s the same for my own game as a player, I want to just get better and better and I feel like I’ve still got higher levels to reach.”

In defence of the 50-over World Cup they clinched in such thrilling fashion back in 2019, England won just three of nine games in India to finish seventh in the group and fail to reach the knockout stage.

It wasn’t just the results that sparked concern, but also the manner in which Buttler’s side succumbed.

The Kiwis set the tone early for England with a nine-wicket victory in a repeat of the 2019 final but worse was to come.

A 69-run loss to Afghanistan was followed by a crushing 229-run defeat against South Africa and similarly bruising losses to Sri Lanka and India all but sealed England’s fate before Australia struck the final blow.

But while the trip to the Caribbean also ultimately ended in disappointment, Buttler was buoyed by what he saw from his side.

Phil Salt, in particular, dazzled with the bat, posting back-to-back centuries to help England take the T20 series all the way to a decider.

“Obviously there’s been lots of ups and downs throughout the year but it’s always important to keep looking forward and that’s what we wanted to do at the start of this series,” Buttler added.

“There’s lots to look forward to next year with the World Cup and I thought we played some really good cricket for the majority of the series.

“We all wanted to win the series and it’s hard to say when you’ve lost, but I think we’ve found out some good things. Obviously some players have stood up and done really well.

“We’ve had five games out here in the Caribbean and had a really good look at what conditions will be like for the World Cup only six months away. So yeah, it’s been a good series.”

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