Jos Buttler, the captain of England’s white-ball cricket team, is determined to lead his squad with an aggressive and positive mindset as they prepare to defend their title in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup, which will be held in India. Buttler, who previously guided England to Men’s T20 World Cup victory in 2022 in Australia, is eager to add one-day success to his list of achievements.
“I want us to be really aggressive, take the game on, and always look to be positive. Perhaps we need to return to that approach a bit more. I want us to push boundaries, and we mustn’t assume it will happen automatically every time just because we’ve done it before,” said Buttler, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Four years after playing a pivotal role in England’s historic victory over New Zealand in the ODI World Cup, Buttler will lead the team in their quest to retain the title, taking over the captaincy from Eoin Morgan, who retired from international cricket last year.
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Assuming the role of captaincy at a crucial point in his career, Buttler sees it as an exciting challenge. “It’s been challenging at times, definitely, in different ways. But the captaincy came at a good time in my career. I was entering my 30s, and the prospect of doing something I hadn’t done before was exciting.”
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“I’ve just tried to be myself. That’s the major lesson I’ve taken from it. I worked closely with Eoin, and we share many similar views on the game, so I’m not too different in the way I want us to play,” Buttler added.
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Buttler, known for his aggressive and attacking style of play in ODIs, is determined to relive the feeling of winning a World Cup for the third time in 2023. The tournament begins with the opening match against New Zealand on October 5 in Ahmedabad.
“It’s incredibly satisfying to have won World Cups in both 50-over and 20-over cricket. When you realize that, it’s an incredibly cool achievement, but I’m hungry for more and eager to experience those feelings again.”
“We feel prepared for what lies ahead,” Buttler affirmed.
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As the ODI World Cup approaches, some of England’s key players may be considering retirement, but Buttler emphasized that no one in the team is thinking about it at the moment. “I don’t know anyone’s intentions, and I haven’t heard anything about international retirement from anyone in our group.”
“At this moment, I don’t think anyone is contemplating it because they are focused on the team and performing well at the start of an exciting campaign. However, there might be individuals after this World Cup who want to make some decisions.”
“We don’t need to add pressure by saying this is the last dance or anything like that. We’re looking forward to the World Cup, and we have a strong group of players. Any time you get to represent your country at a World Cup is very exciting and requires your full attention. We don’t want anyone thinking too far ahead,” concluded Buttler.
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