Jos Buttler to make England return in West Indies following his long layoff from the game due to a calf injury.
Jos Buttler stood out in the open mingling with fans as Australia’s victorious squad gathered in the indoor nets.
Despite not playing at all during this white-ball finale to the 2024 English season owing to a calf ailment, he remains the big-ticket draw. And so, a puzzle that needs to be solved. While Ben Stokes and he both recovered from a torn left hamstring during the Test series against Sri Lanka, England’s regular limited-overs captain did a more statesman-like duty by thanking the tenacious punters who braved the rain.
Sunday’s show concluded a September that started with a single, very clear goal from above. Brendon McCullum, who was just named as Matthew Mott’s replacement following two disastrous World Cup defences in nine months, realised that lifting a “miserable” Buttler up would be crucial to rejuvenating the setup.
Beyond the carefully manicured smiles, a man who was fortunate to maintain his employment following Mott’s dismissal has reportedly been encouraged by this second “reset”‘s encouraging start. A T20I series draw and a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the reigning 50-over champions after trailing 2-0 demonstrated that he will have plenty of material to work with moving forward.
“Around the group, it’s been a great opportunity for him [Buttler]. Just to step back and not worry about the pressures of playing. But have the opportunity to work with players and coaches, talking, building relationships, understanding what’s going on. Sit back and watch a little bit sometimes and see how the team is operating,” interim head coach, Marcus Trescothick, said. “When you’re playing, you’re so engrossed in what’s happening so it’s an opportunity to sit back a little bit.”
Brook, who captained England Under-19s before polishing his leadership skills for Northern Superchargers this summer, said he relished his first experience as an international captain. He went on to remark he looked forward to “taking a seat back and letting Jos do it again”.
It’s unclear how much longer this will last. At least to those observing from the outside, Brook’s impression has been powerful enough to forward that discussion. However, Buttler will be the one to present it.
“There’s no reason why Jos won’t fit back into that mould, score millions of runs, captain well and fit back into the team perfectly.”
There are reasons, however, all of which remain untouched because of his on-field absence over the last month. The next step, for England and Buttler, is working through them.