Joe Root backs ‘brilliant leader’ Jos Buttler as England face crucial Champions Trophy clash
Buttler’s England have lost 17 of their last 24 ODIs heading into Wednesday’s must-win encounter with Afghanistan
Joe Root hailed Jos Buttler’s “brilliant” white-ball captaincy as the Yorkshireman claimed England are “doing more things right” than when he led the Test side.
Buttler has overseen a downturn in fortunes, with England surrendering both limited-overs World Cups in the last 18 months, while they have lost 17 of their last 24 ODIs, including each of the last five.
England will be staring down the barrel of Champions Trophy elimination if they do not beat Afghanistan after a tournament record score of 351 was overhauled by Australia in their opening match on Saturday.
Having led England during a fallow period himself, with just one win in 17 Tests at a time when his side were navigating the Covid pandemic, Root is convinced they are on the right track under Buttler.
Root, who captained England from February 2017 before stepping down in April 2022, said: “I certainly think that this team are doing more things right than maybe some of the teams I captained were doing.
“The fact that we are doing a lot of good things right is a good thing and that’s what we have to really focus on and draw on more than be frustrated by it. We are moving in the right direction.
“It was a great game of cricket (against Australia), we’re gutted that we were on the wrong side of it but if we do that time and time again, we’re going to be winning a lot of cricket games.”
Buttler succeeded Eoin Morgan as England skipper in June 2022 and presided over their T20 World Cup win later that year but, as focus shifted to improving the Test team, the white-ball sides deteriorated.
Test head coach Brendon McCullum adding the T20 and ODI sides to his portfolio was slated to be a shot in the arm but the New Zealander and Buttler have won just one of their nine matches together so far.
But ahead of their must-win Group B contest against Afghanistan in Lahore on Wednesday, Root has backed his fellow 2019 50-over World Cup winner to get England firing on all cylinders once again.
Asked what advice he would give Buttler, Root replied: “Trust everything that he’s doing. He’s doing so much right, making good decisions and creating a really good environment for us to thrive in.
“You’ve seen that with the majority of the performance in the last game. I think he’s a brilliant leader, he’s the best white-ball player we’ve ever produced.
“He’s got the full support of everyone within our dressing room to keep going and keep bringing everything that he’s brought so far to this team in the last little while while I’ve been involved.”
Root, who has been shifted down to bat at number four and made 68 against Australia, has only been intermittently involved with the ODI side since 2019 because his Test duties took priority.
With the next World Cup not until 2027, Root, who is 255 runs adrift of England’s all-time leading ODI run-scorer Morgan, was reluctant to put a timescale on how long he will continue in the 50-over format.
“I’m committed to playing, so whatever that is, whatever the format, I’ve not looked miles and miles ahead – I never have,” the 34-year-old added. “Things change quite quickly.
“You’ve got to be quite present and constantly performing if you’re going to be selected. For me, that’s the focus. Can I continually keep putting into the team, making it better, making it stronger?
“If that’s not the case, then it’s probably someone else’s turn, but I’ll keep doing everything I can to help England win games of cricket.”
PA