England captain Jos Buttler has said he was ‘fed up’ with his poor form and that it was time to return to being ‘the player that I know I am’ by putting up a quality batting effort.
Buttler struggled for form throughout the ODI World Cup before scoring his first half-century since September, an unbeaten 58 off 45 balls, to lead England to a six-wicket victory against West Indies in the second ODI on Wednesday.
“I’ve been searching for form. I have had moments where it has been frustrating. I was getting fed up with it, so it was time to put in a performance and get back to the player that I know I am,” Buttler was quoted as saying by the ‘BBC’.
Buttler had been dismissed for five single-digit scores in his previous eight outings before the second ODI. However, the England captain’s match-winning innings made him the seventh English batter to reach 5,000 runs in ODIs.
“Really pleasing. I’ve been playing for a while now so it’s great when you get to those milestones after playing for a long period of time. It’s been a frustrating time recently.”
Buttler replaced former World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan as white-ball skipper last year as reigning champions England were eliminated from the ODI World Cup after placing sixth and barely making it to the 2025 Champions Trophy.
In the second ODI, England rallied to eliminate the West Indies for 202 runs on Sunday after a dismal bowling performance. Sam Curran spearheaded the attack with three wickets after giving up 98 runs in 9.5 wicketless overs in the opening encounter. After a speedy 73 from Will Jacks, England was able to close the gap with the aid of Buttler and Harry Brook.
“He’s a brilliant character. He had a tough day the other day but he’s always up for the challenge and never shies away from it. He led from the front for us today which is just what we needed.”
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