After being outplayed by India in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup, Jos Buttler admitted he needed a break. Not, he soon clarified, to consider his future as England’s white-ball captain, rather some time and space to review what was a hugely disappointing exit.
In a capricious format such as Twenty20 cricket, reaching the knockout stage was widely considered the requirement for England after a poor showing in the 50-over World Cup last winter that cast doubt on Buttler and the head coach, Matthew Mott, as a leadership pairing. And so, in that regard, they met the benchmark.
But the manner of the defeat in Guyana – a 68-run hammering dished out by India’s spinners after Buttler chose to bowl first – and the fact it was England’s third defeat out of four against full member opponents in the tournament means Rob Key, the team director, may see things differently. Buttler, however, wants to continue.
“At the moment, absolutely,” Buttler said when asked whether England’s next white-ball campaign, the Champions Trophy in 2025, was on his radar. “[But] I am not thinking too far ahead, to be honest, I am reflecting on the loss today.
“After a loss like that you are ready for a bit of space to take it in and process it so you can review not just this game but the last few months. I think there is lots of talent in the English game. It is up to us as an England team to harness that talent and development and make sure we can continue to have a good team moving forward.”
Buttler said he had no regrets about inserting his opponents at the toss on a slow, skiddy surface but did wish he had explored Moeen Ali’s off-spin on the day. “We’ve had lots of adversities throughout the competition, we stuck well together as a group, played some really good cricket in patches but came up short when it mattered the most,” he added.
While Buttler and his team prepared for departure, Rohit Sharma was looking ahead. India will meet the tournament’s other unbeaten team, South Africa, in Barbados on Saturday thanks to his crucial 73-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav, and Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav sharing six wickets.
“It is very satisfying to win,” said Sharma. “We worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well and conditions were challenging. That’s been the success story for us so far. Axar and Kuldeep are gun spinners, it’s tough to play shots against them in these conditions.
“They were calm under pressure. We had a chat after the first innings, the message was to keep the stumps in play. That’s what they did.”
As India were booking their spot in the final, South Africa were struggling to simply get there. Having thrashed Afghanistan on a spicy pitch in Trinidad on Wednesday night, the Proteas had a delay of more than six hours at the airport after a small plane broke down on the runway at Barbados.
