England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler expressed his eagerness to unlock Ben Stokes’ true potential in the T20 format. He also revealed Liam Livingstone could be racing against time for the T20 World Cup.
Having fully recovered from the calf injury which kept him out of the second half of the Hundred and the entirety of the Pakistan series, Buttler marked his return to action with the first T20I against Australia in what is their final preparation phase.
Speaking ahead of the first game of the Australia series at Optus Stadium, he announced his availability and also talked about the new role Ben Stokes has been handed in the T20 side.
“I’m back to 100 percent. Had a good time in Pakistan rehabbing, probably could have played earlier but with the World Cup around the corner it was the right thing to do [to sit out],”
the 32-year-old remarked.
Buttler blasted a stunning 68 off 32 at Optus Stadium and showed he hasn’t missed a beat. He struck eight fours and four maximums in his knock as England went on to post a mammoth 208 on the board.
The England captain had confirmed before the match that Ben Stokes will bat in the top four going forward. Prior to the game on Sunday, Stokes last played a T20 in July last year and doesn’t have a great record in the format. But the all-rounder has the potential to change matches on his own and Buttler wants to give him the best platform to unlock it.
“Ben Stokes is a superstar. Someone we want to try to give as much opportunity to impact the game as possible. Try to get him up the order as high as we can. Give him as much responsibility as possible and allow him to play his way to get the best out of him,”
he said.
Stokes was promoted to number three after a blistering 132-run stand between Buttler and Alex Hales. The Durham cricketer tried too hard in his short stay at the crease and only managed a run-a-ball 9. Considering this was his first outing in the format in over a year, England will allow him time to work himself back in.
The Three Lions have some serious concerns over Livingstone’s availability for the T20 World Cup. The all-rounder had suffered an ankle injury during the Hundred and has been sidelined since. Livingstone is an important part of England’s middle order, especially considering the success he has had in Australia in the BBL.
“[He] is still a little way off at the minute so he’s building back. Hopefully he’ll get back to full fitness before the start of the World Cup,”
revealed Buttler.
England were the favourites heading into the previous T20 World Cup but a year later, they’re far off. They’re in a bit of a rebuilding phase after Eoin Morgan retired and Buttler took over alongside a new white-ball coach in Matthew Mott. Buttler feels no pressure as they’re not among the favourites but does think England have a side full of match-winners.
“Don’t think there’s any pressure on us. The team has changed with a new coach and captain. It’s very early in our era as a group albeit we have fantastic players in our team and some real match-winners and world class players. I think we’re a dangerous team but we don’t have big expectations on us as a group,”
he added.
