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Following England's loss to West Indies in both closely fought white-ball format series, skipper Jos Buttler said that there are some positives to take from the T20I series and his desire to take England to new heights of success still burns strongly after a disappointing ICC Cricket World Cup title defence in India.
West Indies saw off England in a thrilling five-match series to record a 3-2 triumph but the defending champions of the last Men's T20 World Cup take away some major insights from the bilateral affair. In a series that went down to the decider, West Indies reigned over the visitors to complete series victories over India, South Africa and England in the year 2023, as per ICC. The matches hit headlines for the big-hitting, with England opener Phil Salt recording the most runs by a player in a bilateral T20I series. Six-hitting was a huge factor in the series with the team hitting more maximums winning each of the five matches. "They hit a lot of sixes as a team, that is something that is a trademark of their side and we've got to find ways to limit that," Buttler had said at the end of the first T20I, which the West Indies claimed by four wickets after out-gunning England's tally of six sixes with 14. The trend continued throughout the series with West Indies hitting 64 sixes and England smashing 56. In the two games they won, England hit 18 and 19 sixes respectively while in the three they lost, they hit less than 10 sixes each time. Together, the teams hit 120 sixes in the bilateral series, the first time the three-figure mark was touched in a bilateral men's T20I series. The last time these teams played in the Caribbean (in early 2022), the tally went up to 97. "It is hard to say when you have lost but I think we have found out some good things," Buttler said at the end of the series as quoted by ICC. "We have obviously 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 is been a good series," he added. The T20 World Cup defending champions end the year 2023 with no taste of a series victory in T20Is but Buttler is keen to have another crack at the title next year despite the disappointments in 2023. "I have had some low moments for sure," he said, hinting at the Cricket World Cup performance earlier this year. "It was a huge disappointment in my career that [ODI] World Cup just gone, but after you let the dust settle there is huge motivation and determination to have another crack and keep going. So that desire still burns strongly," added the skipper. Notably, England do not play another bilateral T20I series until a month before the marquee event in June in these very conditions. "We do not play together as a team now [until May] but everyone is going to be playing lots of T20 cricket in different tournaments around the world so that is a plus. Hopefully we can come here and look forward to a really good World Cup," Buttler added, acknowledging that the bowling too will need to be on the mark in these conditions. "It has been good to be in these conditions and have a look at what might work in those scenarios. I think if you can execute your yorkers they are still the best ball in T20," remarked the skipper. Pacer Jofra Archer, who missed this series, but trained with the England team, will be a valuable addition to arrest the big hits, especially in the death overs. "I have not spoken to Jof. Obviously, I saw him in Barbados, it was good to see him back in training with us and bowling well. I know the medical team and staff have got a good plan for him and I think I speak on behalf of all England cricket fans and cricket fans around the world that we want to see Jof back and back for good. So I think it is important that he takes his time," added Buttler. (ANI)
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