Men’s ODI WC: ‘I have lot of confidence and belief in myself…’, Buttler determined to remain England captain

Bengaluru, Oct 27 (IANS) England skipper Jos Buttler has said he is adamant about staying as captain after the disappointing loss to Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which all but ends the team’s title defence.

England were bowled out for 156 on Thursday at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, which Sri Lanka chased down in 26 overs to hand the Three Lions an eight-wicket loss, their fourth defeat in five games at the showpiece event.

The loss to Sri Lanka doesn’t mathematically rule England out of the running for a semifinal spot, but it would take a near-miraculous turnaround but Buttler conceded his team’s hopes had all but vanished ahead of the game against tournament favourites and host India in Lucknow on Sunday.

“It certainly looks that way and that’s incredibly disappointing. You get on the plane to come to India and we’re in a really good position as a team. Everything looking like it’s going to plan and it’s just not worked at all,” said Buttler.

Buttler captained England to the ICC T20 World Cup title last year in Australia. But his time in charge of the ODI team has been disappointing at times, with mixed results since he took over from Eoin Morgan in 2022.

Asked if he was determined to remain as captain, Buttler said: “I think you’re always questioning as captain how you can get the best out of players, how you can get the team moving in the right direction. I certainly have a lot of confidence and belief in myself as a leader and captain, and first and foremost as a player, but if you’re asking if I should still be captaining the team, that’s a question for the guys above me.”

The defending champions were thrashed by nine wickets in their tournament opener against New Zealand, beat Bangladesh in their second match but have since been shocked by Afghanistan and hammered by a record margin by South Africa prior to their latest defeat on Thursday.

“There’s no one else who can score your runs or take your wickets. That comes from the start, from the captain at the front. I’ve been a long way short of my best. As a leader, you want to lead through your own performance, and I’ve not been able to do that,” he added.

–IANS

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