Windies vs England 2019: Trevor Bayliss Comments have hurt our Pride - Jos Buttler

As England suffered two successive defeats at the hands of Windies in Tests, their coach, Trevor Bayliss questioned the team’s determination. Bayliss, post the Antigua beating slammed the courage shown by the players in tough conditions which left Buttler hurt. Ahead of the third Test, which begins in St. Lucia on February 9th; Jos Buttler admitted England was far from being their best on the field but didn’t agree with Bayliss over the side not showing determination.

The tour has been disappointing so far – Buttler

England landed in the Caribbean as outright favourites, but the script didn’t go as planned. Jason Holder-led Windies first thumped the Poms in Barbados by 381 runs before winning the next Test in Antigua by ten wickets. Not only this, the Windies were successful in putting the visitors under pressure, which even Jos believes had them on the floor.

Meanwhile, Buttler opined the team played well under what they were capable of and what was expected out of them. The right-handed batsman added Windies had pressed them and they found success in their attempts eventually.

“It has been a really disappointing tour so far,” Buttler said. “We have played well under what we are capable of and what we expect of ourselves. We have not been able to soak up areas of pressure West Indies have put on us and we haven’t got anything going in partnerships. Those are the areas we need to improve this week.”

His (Bayliss) comments have hurt our pride – Jos

Jos then spoke on the remarks made by Trevor Bayliss. He said such statements coming from the coach itself, hurt the dignity of the players.

Jos Buttler added the way Darren Bravo played on a challenging track in the second innings, England players should take a leaf out of his books. Though the left-handed batsman took some blows on his body, Jos reckons maybe that is required to stay afloat in the game.

“But the guts, courage and determination of the group is very strong. We have not been good enough to show that at times on this tour. This week we will be looking to show lots more of that.”

Meanwhile, England had come to face the Windies on the back of an away series win in Sri Lanka. During the recent Tests, their attacking approach has cost them games, but Jos Buttler believes the plan won’t get changed; instead, they have to play better cricket, or perhaps brave cricket to salvage pride in the final Test.

“The plan isn’t changing,” Buttler said. “We just have to play better. If I look back at the games I’ve been involved in since I came back into the side, the conditions have been fast-forward cricket. That style of being bold and attacking has paid dividends at times.

He further said the side needs to act smarter and play according to the conditions.

“But we have to be smarter and adapt to our conditions. You’re always trying to adapt to conditions and play the situation accordingly and we’ve been way off with that. The commitment side of things is a big part of it, to commit to your style of playing as an individual and a group.

“In international cricket you will come up against lots of different situations and lots of different conditions. The real skill of the best players and best teams around the world is they adapt to those conditions better than the opposition. As a player and as a team you’re always reviewing that logically: are we getting that balance quite right? That’s another area the team can improve.”