England head coach Matthew Mott suspects a switch from ODIs to T20s and a shift to the top of the order can get Jos Buttler firing on all cylinders again.
Buttler’s World Cup hangover followed him to the Caribbean with two single-figure scores either side of a sparkling unbeaten fifty in a new-look England side’s 2-1 ODI series defeat by the West Indies.
He was out for a golden duck in Saturday’s decider in Barbados, caught at fine-leg after an imprudent hook, bringing the England captain’s average down to a modest 18.09 in his last dozen innings.
With ODIs on the back-burner till September, England can focus on building towards the T20 World Cup in June with a five-match series against the co-hosts, where Buttler will be in his usual opening role.
“It’s always good when you lose a series to change the format, you move on pretty quickly,” Mott said ahead of the T20 series opener on Tuesday at the Kensington Oval.
“Jos showed his class the other day and he may well, at the top of the order, come out and take the bowling on as he has done for for a number of years.”
Will Jacks and Phil Salt have put on four opening stands of 50 or more in five ODIs, finding some fluency together in the manner predecessor Jason Roy did, first with Alex Hales then Jonny Bairstow.
The pair’s success invites speculation as to whether England could persevere with the pair in T20s and move Buttler down to number three in a reshuffle, but Mott dismissed the notion out of hand.
“Jos is a lock-in, definitely opening,” Mott said. “He’s proven over a very long period of time.
“It will be just what he needs to get up the top and really boss the game from the start and I know for a fact he’s looking forward to it.”
Mott’s position came under scrutiny after England’s shambolic World Cup and he has lost 18 ODIs in his tenure and won 16 – but five of those have been against non-Test playing Ireland and the Netherlands.
A series defeat against a side that did not qualify for the World Cup was another low moment but the success of this tour might be judged on how the T20s pan out with a more experienced bunch of players.
Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes and Tymal Mills are now in tow and, alongside Reece Topley, they trained in Bridgetown barely 12 hours after England’s rain-affected defeat at the same venue.
The quintet give England more depth with the ball, while Mills and Topley are attractive options at the death after their pacemen struggled at the back end in the ODI defeats in Antigua and Barbados.
On both occasions, England were in with a sniff of victory courtesy of their spinners – led by teenager Rehan Ahmed, who was described as “a bit of a revelation for us with the ball” on this tour by Mott.
But Sam Curran was flayed and recorded the most expensive ODI figures by an England bowler in the opener while Gus Atkinson leaked 24 in an over when the Windies needed 33 in 24 balls in the finale.
“We’ve got some really good (death bowling) options,” Mott added. “The guys getting an opportunity haven’t had a lot of opportunity in this format yet but I think they will be better for the experience.
“Sam’s definitely a player that we really want to invest in. He hasn’t missed too often at the death for us. But he’s that type of bowler that wants the ball in his hand at the back end.
“When you’ve got guys who want to do that, they’ll come out on top more often than they miss it as well.”
Andrew Flintoff is due into Barbados on Sunday night and is scheduled to be at training on Monday as he rejoins England’s coaching set-up in a paid role as a team mentor.
Cricket West Indies to reveal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Friday, May 3
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is gearing up to unveil its squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup during a highly anticipated live press conference in Barbados on Friday, May 3. The event will feature CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes, and Head Coach Daren Sammy alongside CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave.
In a statement, Johnny Grave expressed the organization's excitement about the impending announcement and highlighted the decision to host a live press conference as a means to directly engage with fans and media.
"Emphasizing the significance of this moment, we chose to host a live press conference to engage with fans and media directly. We also requested permission from the ICC to align our announcement with this event," said Johnny Grave.
The announcement comes amidst increasing excitement as local box offices across the region open on Thursday, May 2, allowing fans to secure their tickets for the tournament. Additionally, CWI will be releasing the official tournament song on the same day, further adding to the anticipation building around the event.
"Excitement is mounting as local box offices open across the region on Thursday, May 2, and we are equally thrilled to release the official tournament song on the same day. Anticipation is building, and we can't wait to share this journey with cricket enthusiasts worldwide," Grave added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to commence on June 1, will be co-hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, culminating with the finals scheduled to take place in Barbados. With preparations in full swing, CWI's squad announcement promises to be a significant moment in the lead-up to this highly anticipated global cricketing event. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the squad and the exciting journey ahead for Cricket West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup.
IPL: Punjab Kings spinners frustrate CSK in routine win
Punjab Kings eased to back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, their spinners doing the damage as they claimed a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings chased down an IPL-record of 262 with eight balls to spare to beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, but they didn't need anywhere near that level of big hitting to clinch their first set of consecutive victories this year.
Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar made it a far more comfortable outing for Punjab, finishing with two wickets apiece and giving up just 33 runs between them through eight overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad did his best to keep CSK in it with his 62 off 48 balls, but they always looked unlikely to defend a middling score of 162, particularly when Deepak Chahar pulled up two deliveries into the Punjab innings and walked gingerly from the field.
Richard Gleeson dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for 13 on his IPL debut, but that was as good as it got for Chennai as Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 25) steadily ate away at their score.
The Super Kings' outing was summed up by Sam Curran's wayward drive spinning away from Shivam Dube at the boundary for a four late on, and Punjab wrapped up their most comfortable win of the season with 13 balls to spare.
Data Debrief: Kings maintain Chennai hoodoo
The Kings' upturn may have come a little too late to give them a genuine shot at the play-offs, but for Chennai, it was a case of more frustration against their bogey team.
Punjab have now won their last five matches against the Super Kings, who have seen their title defence stall with a run of three defeats in four outings.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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