New captain Jos Buttler keen to take stock after hectic start to his reign

Busy start: England's Jos Buttler batting during the defeat by India at Old Trafford. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.Busy start: England's Jos Buttler batting during the defeat by India at Old Trafford. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Busy start: England's Jos Buttler batting during the defeat by India at Old Trafford. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Jos Buttler admitted he will need time to grow into his role as England captain after his side slipped to another series defeat against India.

When Eoin Morgan stepped down from England duty last month, Buttler was the logical successor, but he has started his white-ball reign with 2-1 losses in both the Twenty20 and one-day series.

However, Buttler accepted he is a relative novice as skipper, so in the weeks and months ahead he will be relying on guidance from head coach Matthew Mott and other experienced players in the dressing room.

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“I feel like a really experienced cricketer, but in terms of captaincy I’m quite a young captain with lots of opportunity to grow and learn about the role,” he said.

Painful blow: England's Jos Buttler holds his head after being hit by a ball during his innings. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.Painful blow: England's Jos Buttler holds his head after being hit by a ball during his innings. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Painful blow: England's Jos Buttler holds his head after being hit by a ball during his innings. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

“I think it will take a bit of time, I want to try and walk before I can run, I’ve just got to work out, be myself and use the people around me to help me.

“There’s such experienced guys in the dressing room and all the coaching staff have been really helpful for me and I can certainly lean on those guys to assist me.”

The schedule this month is unabating - with England now halfway through a programme of a dozen fixtures in the space of 25 days - and Buttler acknowledged it has been a baptism of fire.

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“There’s been lots of games in a very short space of time, which has been a challenge as well,” he said. “It would be nice to have a day to reflect a bit and not always be thinking.”

Hardik Pandya’s ODI-best four for 24 and a fine 71 from 55 balls, allied to Rishabh Pant’s breathtaking 125 not out from 113 deliveries sealed a five-wicket win for India at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday.

Chasing 260, India had slipped to 72-4 as Reece Topley took the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit and Virat Kohli. Pant could have ben stumped on 18, while Craig Overton misjudged his position on the boundary when Pandya was on six, misses which were costly as the pair put on a decisive 133-run union.

“If you give good players a second chance there’s a good chance they’ll hurt you,” Buttler said. “If we manage to take those two chances, I believe we’d have gone on to win the game.”

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