Jos Buttler realised the England side who have re-written the white-ball rulebook were perhaps coming to the end of their journey during a recent practice session.
‘Age can be a bit of an irrelevance if you’re fit and performing,’ insisted the England captain who is aiming to defend the 50-over World Cup. ‘But we are certainly older than we were.
‘We did a young v old fielding drill at Cardiff before we played New Zealand and those aged 32 got in the young side. So it does tell you we’re on the older side as a team. But we’ve got great experience and we’ve played a lot of cricket together. We’ve also played a lot in India for England or in the IPL, which means there will be fewer surprises.’
England and Buttler have come a long way since the dark days of the 2015 World Cup and the revolution that followed. Two titles have been won since then, the T20 World Cup coming in the captain’s first tournament in charge last year, and they head to India with Buttler expecting a changing of the guard after this 50-over defence, win or lose.
‘I don’t know anyone’s intentions and I haven’t heard anything about international retirement from anyone in our group,’ Buttler told Mail Sport.
Few can match the highs and lows of England captain Jos Buttler’s international career
He played the final part in 2019 as England completed the most dramatic World Cup final victory of all time
He followed it up three years later as he captained England to World T20 victory in Australia
‘I don’t think anyone’s thinking that at the moment because they’re focused on the team and playing well at the start of an exciting campaign. But there might be individuals after this World Cup who want to make some kind of decision.
‘We don’t need to add pressure by saying this is the last dance or anything like that. We’re looking forward to the World Cup and we’ve got a really strong group of players.
‘Any time you get to represent your country at a World Cup is very exciting and needs your full attention. You don’t want anyone thinking too far past it.’
The big question is whether England’s greatest white-ball batsman will be among those moving on. Buttler, at 33, will have achieved almost everything in an England shirt if he wins the World Cup in India and will be in demand in the ever-evolving franchise world.
There is already a suggestion Rajasthan Royals are lining up a multi-year contract for him to play in their various teams worldwide, while the ECB will counter by offering 20 of their best players multi-year deals of their own. Buttler will be principal among them.
The England captain chose his words carefully when asked by Mail Sport about his future but, encouragingly, says his country is very much still part of it.
‘Hopefully I will be playing for England a while longer yet,’ he said. ‘I know I’ve just ticked over to 33 but I don’t feel that old.
‘I don’t think anything can quite replicate playing for your country. It’s a huge honour you don’t take for granted, but at the same time I’m pretty calm. That’s where I’m at in my career. I’m excited for whatever is left. I still feel there are areas I want to improve and get better as a player, which is a nice place to be because it gives you desire and motivation.
The 33-year-old has come a long way since playing in the side that crashed out of the 2015 World Cup in the group stage
For several of England’s key players, the upcoming World Cup could be something of a last dance
‘Whatever happens will work itself out. The landscape has changed a bit and there are more opportunities now. It’s just a question of working out what fits for you moving forward and what’s best.’
One hugely significant white-ball player who has surely reached the end of the line with England, even if he has agreed to be a World Cup reserve, is batsman Jason Roy. Clearly England intended to take their most explosive opener to this World Cup but a series of back spasms and controversy over the original exclusion of Harry Brook forced a change of mind.
It was Buttler, one of Roy’s closest friends, who insisted on ringing the Surrey man for the second time in less than a year to tell him he wasn’t going to a World Cup.
‘He’s been a fantastic player for us and it was an incredibly difficult decision,’ said Buttler. ‘He’s a really great mate of mine so that made it even harder. It wasn’t a call we took lightly, so it was very tough. It was a really difficult phone call to make.
‘It’s never nice having to deliver bad news, particularly when they’re a great friend of yours, and I had to do the same thing with Jason last year ahead of the T20 tournament.
‘But it was the decision we came to as a selection panel and in really good teams good players miss out. Unfortunately it’s Jason this time.’ The move emphasised that the softly-spoken Buttler does have a ruthless streak. The switch from Eoin Morgan to his long-term vice-captain has been a smooth one but Buttler insists he has done the job his way.
‘It’s been challenging at times, definitely, in different ways,’ said Buttler, who got off to a slightly indifferent start in charge. ‘But the captaincy came at a good time in my career. I was getting into my 30s and doing something I hadn’t done before was exciting.
‘I’ve just tried to be myself. That’s the big learning curve I’ve taken from it. I obviously worked closely with Eoin and we have a lot of similar views on the game, so I’m not too different in the way I want us to play.
‘I want us to be really aggressive, take the game on and always look to be positive. Maybe we need to get back to that a bit more.
‘I want us to push boundaries and we can’t take it for granted we’ll do that every time. Just because we’ve done it before doesn’t mean it will happen game after game.’
Now the two-time World Cup winner is aiming for a third. ‘It’s incredibly satisfying to have won World Cups in 50-over and 20-over cricket,’ he added.
Buttler has already made the difficult decision to drop Jason Roy, who excelled in 2019
The England captain wants his side to ‘push boundaries’ as they eye a third world title
‘When you catch yourself saying that, you think it’s an incredibly cool thing to achieve, but also I’m hungry to achieve more and experience those feelings again.
‘I think 2019 was extra special because it was the first time we’d experienced anything like that and it was at Lord’s. Being part of the 2015 World Cup and being part of the turnaround was really something.
‘And the T20 World Cup was incredibly special in its own right. It was different being captain and I experienced a different journey, but both were fantastic. Hopefully there is more to come. We feel ready for what’s ahead of us.’
Jos Buttler was speaking to promote Castore, official kit suppliers of the England cricket team, investing in an extension to its national brand marketing campaign. For more information visit castore.com
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