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Jos Buttler has said that despite England’s T20I
series defeat to West Indies, he considers the tour to have been a success.
“It’s hard to say when you’ve lost, but I think we’ve found out some
really good things,” he said after his side were beaten by four wickets in
the decider in Trinidad.
Following their previous two series losses, England
called a team meeting and announced a shift in strategy: they would “fight
fire with fire” against a West Indies squad that had hit 13 more sixes
than them in the first two games of the series.
After two victories, marked by outstanding centuries
from Phil Salt, it is thought that Buttler and company did a good job because
of their turnaround and improved grasp of the conditions, even though they let
it slip in the fifth and final game.
“Yeah I think so,” Buttler said. “You
want to win and we all wanted to win the series. It’s hard to say when you’ve
lost but I think we’ve found out some good things.
“Obviously some players have stood up and done
really well. We’ve 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’s been a good series.”
Nevertheless, it is a concerning trend for an England
team that have won just four of their 12 T20s this year and none of the three
series they have played. The group is still considered to be exceptionally
talented and genuine contenders for the World Cup in June, but the winning
habit has deserted them.
“Not really, [but] I’ve had some low moments for
sure,” Buttler said, reflecting on his own 2023 and whether he had ever
considered giving up the captaincy. “It was a huge disappointment in my
career that [ODI] World Cup just gone, but after you let the dust settle
there’s huge motivation and determination to have another crack and keep going.
So that desire still burns strongly.”