Jos Buttler has announced his intention to step down as England’s white-ball captain following Sunday’s match against South Africa. The 34-year-old had assumed the position from Eoin Morgan, but his time as skipper has been marred by a series of disappointing performances.
England have lost a whopping 15 of their last 21 one-day internationals – a figure made worse during the recent Champions Trophy campaign. The Three Lions have lost to both Australia and Afghanistan at the tournament being held in Pakistan.
Speaking ahead of the South Africa contest, Buttler said: “It’s the right time for me and the team.”
Buttler did inspire England to a T20 World Cup win during his first white-ball tournament as captain and has confirmed he intends to continue as a player.
He continued: “Hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside [Brendon McCullum] to take the team back to where it needs to be.
“This tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy. Two losses and being out of the tournament, with the hangover of a couple of tournaments before, I’ve reached the end of the road of my captaincy. It’s a shame, I’m sad about that. With Brendon coming in recently, I was excited to work closely alongside him and hoping for a quick turnaround to take the team forward. It’s not quite worked out that way.
“I feel like it is the right time for me and the team to have a change. The overriding emotions are still sadness and disappointment, but I’m sure in time that will pass, and I can get back to really enjoying my cricket.”
It comes following hefty criticism of Buttler and head coach Brendon McCullum’s approach from ex-England star Kevin Pietersen. Speaking to Star Sports, he said earlier this month: “You have a major tournament coming up in the Champions Trophy, and from what we have heard, one batter has had a net in the last week or two: Root, the one batter who probably doesn’t need one!”
“Tom Banton arrived two days ago from the UAE, and he was on the golf course yesterday, he wasn’t batting. Where have the issues come? None of them can play spin. And how do you improve playing spin? In the nets!”
Buttler leaves his role as England captain with 18 wins and 25 defeats from 44 One Day Internationals. His record in T20s is slightly better, having won 26 and lost 22 of his 51 matches as skip.
Attention will now turn to who England might appoint as Buttler’s successor, with Harry Brook having been mooted as a potential candidate.
