Been a little while since I’ve played well: Jos Buttler

England captain Jos Buttler admitted that he hasn’t been performing well in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and is hoping for a change of fortune after their loss in the first match of a three-game series against the West Indies. Buttler has been going through a tough phase in his ODI career, and this continued in Antigua.

During the match, Buttler faced difficulty, managing only three runs in 13 balls and losing his wicket while attempting a reverse sweep. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Moite played a role in keeping Buttler calm, but the frustration seemed to affect his game.

Buttler expressed his disappointment after the match, acknowledging that he hasn’t played well in a while. It has been 13 innings in ODIs since Buttler scored more than 50 runs. In the recently concluded ICC ODI World Cup in India, he struggled, scoring just 138 runs in 9 matches at an average of 15.

“You always want to play well and it’s been a little while since I’ve played well. I just need to work hard and trust that it will come back,” Buttler said after the first ODI defeat as quoted by India Today.

Despite Buttler’s batting struggles, England posted a total of 325 runs in 50 overs in the match, thanks to contributions from Harry Brook, Sam Curran, and Brydon Carse. However, West Indies, led by Shai Hope’s impressive century, successfully chased down the target, marking their highest successful chase in ODI history. Jos Buttler praised the West Indies team, especially Shai Hope and Romario Shepherd, for their excellent performance.

“Fantastic game of cricket. A lot of credit goes to Shai Hope and his team-mates. They played well at the back end to chase those runs down. Credit to Shai and Romario (Shepherd). It was some fantastic hitting. We will learn a lot from that,” Buttler added.

Now, England will aim to make a comeback in the second ODI against the West Indies in Antigua on December 6.