Another new era of English cricket begins tonight with Buttler captaincy
It’s almost becoming boring to speak of yet another new era in English cricket but such is the pace of change at the moment that the next one begins this evening.
At 6pm at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, Jos Buttler will lead out England for the opener of a three-match Twenty20 series against India for the first time as permanent captain.
The 31-year-old is considered one of the best white-ball cricketers in the world and takes over from Eoin Morgan, the captain who led England to the 2019 one-day World Cup.
English dream?
And unlike the Test team, coming in as limited-overs captain alongside a new coach – in former Australia Women main man Matthew Mott – isn’t the most difficult of jobs.
The limited-overs side is strong, up there alongside the world’s best, with depth in nearly every position. It is consistent and powerful but also smart and reserved – one would imagine a dream job.
But given the recent form of the one-day side in the Netherlands – where England set a world record of 498 inside their 50 overs – and the resurgence in the Test team, the T20 machine remains the only one without a polished record of late.
They lost a five-match series against the West Indies 3-2 earlier this year – the losses by nine wickets, 20 runs and 17 runs – while their Indian opponents come into the series off the back of a 2-2 series draw with South Africa, the last three matches unbeaten.
Both sides have power and spin in abundance and are evenly matched in much of their games, but England will be favourites given their long batting tail.
The last time these teams played, on England’s tour of India in 2021, India won 3-2 but England’s opponents struggled at last year’s World Cup while England comfortably made the last four.
In a welcome return for the team, former Test captain Joe Root has been included in the wider list of players involved in the limited overs series – he’s been at the forefront of the Test team despite playing in the 2021 India ODI series.
The Yorkshireman is explosive with the bat and only adds to the options in that middle order.
Power and patience
Elsewhere in the wider squad, Liam Livingstone is included alongside the likes of Jason Roy, Phil Salt and Dawid Malan, while Moeen Ali, Matthew Parkinson and Sam Curran will add variety with the ball.
England’s 14-man T20 squad is one of balance; combining the power with patience and the fast pacers with the smart spinners.
Buttler will be judged on results given the general success that came before him under Morgan – and the sudden interest in all forms of England cricket since the Test side’s adoption of Bazball.
“The team is in a great place, and I see the game in a very, very similar way to Eoin,” said Buttler after being appointed captain. “I want us to play in exactly the same way.
“One big thing that we always talked about as a group is not setting boundaries, not having limitations, always keen to improve, always keen to push the bar higher and that’s the thing to try and work on.
“Where are those areas that we can improve? What can we keep doing? But that style of play, I hope will remain exactly the same.”
So it’s business as usual with minor changes, but with the one-day team and Test side in form, it’s for the promising T20 outfit to catch up.