We Are In A Really Good Place As A Side: Jos Buttler Optimistic Despite England's Recent Struggles

England might have lost consecutive ODI series in the last few months and sustained defeats across all formats in India; however, vice-captain Jos Buttler asserted they are not panicking. Jos Buttler captained England in the last two ODIs in India against the hosts – a series which the number one side conceded after chasing 337 to level the rubber in the second game. The keeper-batsman talked about various positives emerging out of the setup and stated they are in a good place.

England lost a tight third game in the three-match series, thanks to Sam Curran’s knock of 95 that kept the tourists in the hunt till the last three balls. Man of the match Curran remained unbeaten five short of a maiden ODI hundred as the Three Lions fell seven runs short of an incredible victory. For his scores of 94 and 124 in the first two ODIs, Jonny Bairstow earned the man of the series award.

Jos Buttler pointed out that England have been an outstanding team for a long time now as the competition amongst the players is intense. Buttler talked about Sam Curran’s innings, saying that it’s a massive learning curve for him and is excited to see him taking it to the next level. The 29-year old felt that being a youngster, Curran showed maturity and has plenty of time ahead of him.

“We have been a brilliant side for a long period of time now. Any time we expand the player pool, that creates competition, that creates better performances and that creates the upward trajectory we are always after. Many guys are never really exposed to that situation in their whole career so he will take great learning from that. He is still only 22 and the scope of where he can take his game to is massive so we are all very excited for him,” Jos Buttler said as quoted by Times of India.

It is brilliant to see someone like Liam come in and play straight away in the fashion: Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler also hailed Liam Livingstone, who played a promising knock of 36 in the third ODI and played with positive intent. The Lancashire-born player termed his fellow teammate as an aggressive cricketer; hence, he believes that upcoming men performing like that are sending the message to people about how they want them to play. Thus, Buttler has no doubts that the English team is in a good place.

“Liam coming in and playing in those two games the way he has, it shows that we are doing things right. Liam is obviously a very attacking aggressive batsman and we want him to play exactly that fashion when he comes in. It is brilliant to see someone like Liam come in and play straight away in the fashion that we would like to play people in. That shows we are doing this right, the message is getting through to people and we will continue to play that way. We are in a really good place as a side,” he added.

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