India deserved series winners as Buttler’s ODI tenure begins in defeat
England one-day captain Jos Buttler’s tenure in charge of the current World Cup champions has not started in the way the previous era finished.
Then, under Eoin Morgan, it was a 3-0 whitewash of the Netherlands – which included a record 50-over score of 498. Now, though, it’s a 2-1 loss against India on home turf.
And while under new head coach Matthew Mott England enjoyed a handsome 100-run victory in the second match, that impressive result was sandwiched between a 10-wicket loss last week and a five-wicket loss yesterday.
It’s a stark reminder to teams that they must continue to evolve, even when they’re seemingly on top of their game.
England have a batting line up that some would suggest is one of the best ever: openers in Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow with the likes of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Liam Livingstone, Buttler, Moeen Ali and others.
But it was India who shone yesterday at Old Trafford. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s 125 not out and a contribution of 71 from Hardik Pandya did much of the damage for India as they chased a modest 260 set by England in the early afternoon in Manchester.
The ever-present Ravindra Jadeja shone in the field, too, and India comfortably wrapped up the match with nearly a fifth of the allotted overs remaining.
Despite Buttler’s knock of 60 – before he was caught by Jadeja off Pandya’s bowling – England didn’t seem to fire as a cohort.
At the Oval in the first match England didn’t seem to realise they were in trouble until it was too late; at Lord’s they managed their game better.
Yesterday at Old Trafford it was much the same as the opening match; ducks and all.
This series has seen seven ducks for England batters – two of them for former Test captain Root, while six others had one each.
It was a worrying reminder of England’s past problems – albeit previously more in the Test team – and it’s somewhere where there’s room for improvement.
“It was a good wicket once you got yourself in so we were a bit light with the bat,” Buttler said. “But the start we made with the ball gave us a chance and that missed stumping cost us.
“Pant is a really good player and if you give a player like that a second chance they are going to hurt you.
“We are not quite hitting our straps as a batting unit but we are not far off. We are just not producing what we are capable of. So hopefully individually and collectively we can find a solution.”
The cricket doesn’t stop for Buttler as the side look to gear up for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup and next year’s one-day World Cup – where England are reigning champions.
England kick off a three-match one-day series against South Africa tomorrow at Chester-le-Street before facing the Proteas in a series of T20 matches.
Buttler’s tenure has begun in defeat but, with little time to think about what went wrong before the next series, the new England captain is already on the back foot.