Jos Buttler talks to TOI on cricket’s rising new breed, the churn in England‘s coaching setup and dealing with injury…
It’s not a good time to be Jos Buttler. England’s regular white-ball captain is grappling with a right calf injury that has made him sit out for long, even as a Harry Brook-led England prepare to take on Australia in the upcoming ODI series.
Buttler, though, is not one to merely sit on the sidelines.Along with his rehab, he has been meticulously planning the way forward for the team under new head coach Brendon McCullum, who takes over next January.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview…
Status of your injury?
I haven’t set a timeline for my return but I’m feeling good. I’ve had a couple of setbacks along the way in my rehab, which is a shame. I just want to get it completely right. It’s been a long time now since I’ve been at the intensity of playing some top-level cricket.
So many teams seem to be in a transition phase. Do you perceive any difference in terms of approach, intensity and skill set in the younger crop of players who’ve been shaped by a lot of franchise-based T20 cricket?
It’s that fearless nature these youngsters have. They seem very international-ready, without having had games behind them or taking the time to adapt. That’s been one of the things for all countries, really, since the franchise competitions began. Playing in these tournaments has sort of bridged the gap between domestic and international cricket.
These (franchise events) are condensed tournaments offering a higher standard of crick et and sort of preparing younger players for what international cricket will be like, even in terms of playing in front of big crowds or the media inter actions, etc. So, these guys seem ready-made for international cricket and they aren’t taking that long to adapt, which is a great sign.
England picked a lot of multi-skilled players for the T20I series against Australia. Does the IPL‘s ‘impact player’ rule seem at odds with this trend?
Even before the ‘impact player’ rule came in, there were a lot of cricketers wanting to be involved, wanting to impact the game with both bat and ball. Allrounders traditionally have been crucial for cricket teams, to lengthen the batting lineup, provide balance and different bowling options. Allrounders are not a luxury but a necessity. Having multi-skilled players is a huge benefit. I know in the IPL people think the ‘impact-player’ rule is sort of taking something away from the allrounders, but they still play a huge part. They’re crucial to balancing the side.
England’s new all-format coach Brendon McCullum recently said that you’ve been ‘a bit miserable at times’ because of injury and form issues…
I saw that, it’s tongue in cheek! I’ve had some good chats with ‘Baz’ and I’m really excited to get the chance to work with him. He was always one of those players that I looked up to. He’s had a huge impact with the Test team and now, being the all-format coach is great for English cricket.
Are we reverting to an age of a single head coach across formats, instead of specialized white-ball and red-ball roles?
There are pluses and minuses to both. Having that one guy across formats can have that consistent messaging, of course. At the time Brendon took over as Test coach along with Matthew Mott (former white-ball coach), the schedule for English cricket was incredibly busy. It looked impossible for one man to do it all. We had to balance that out. Now it’s obviously gone back to having that single head coach, but you’ll still have to be smart with schedules. There might be times when ‘Baz’ needs to step out for a series and one of the assistant coaches can take charge.
With so many people around to provide input, do you see the captain’s role diminishing in future, especially in T20 format?
I don’t see that at all. There’s more data but making those calls on the field is still crucial. It’s such a short game, every ball is important, saving one run or two runs here and there can go a long way to winning a game. Making those calls as captain is vital. There’s just more information for the captain if you need it.
(Watch the first ODI of the Australia tour of England on 19th Sept, 5:00 PM IST onwards LIVE On Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD channels)
It’s not a good time to be Jos Buttler. England’s regular white-ball captain is grappling with a right calf injury that has made him sit out for long, even as a Harry Brook-led England prepare to take on Australia in the upcoming ODI series.
Buttler, though, is not one to merely sit on the sidelines.Along with his rehab, he has been meticulously planning the way forward for the team under new head coach Brendon McCullum, who takes over next January.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview…
Status of your injury?
I haven’t set a timeline for my return but I’m feeling good. I’ve had a couple of setbacks along the way in my rehab, which is a shame. I just want to get it completely right. It’s been a long time now since I’ve been at the intensity of playing some top-level cricket.
So many teams seem to be in a transition phase. Do you perceive any difference in terms of approach, intensity and skill set in the younger crop of players who’ve been shaped by a lot of franchise-based T20 cricket?
It’s that fearless nature these youngsters have. They seem very international-ready, without having had games behind them or taking the time to adapt. That’s been one of the things for all countries, really, since the franchise competitions began. Playing in these tournaments has sort of bridged the gap between domestic and international cricket.
These (franchise events) are condensed tournaments offering a higher standard of crick et and sort of preparing younger players for what international cricket will be like, even in terms of playing in front of big crowds or the media inter actions, etc. So, these guys seem ready-made for international cricket and they aren’t taking that long to adapt, which is a great sign.
England picked a lot of multi-skilled players for the T20I series against Australia. Does the IPL‘s ‘impact player’ rule seem at odds with this trend?
Even before the ‘impact player’ rule came in, there were a lot of cricketers wanting to be involved, wanting to impact the game with both bat and ball. Allrounders traditionally have been crucial for cricket teams, to lengthen the batting lineup, provide balance and different bowling options. Allrounders are not a luxury but a necessity. Having multi-skilled players is a huge benefit. I know in the IPL people think the ‘impact-player’ rule is sort of taking something away from the allrounders, but they still play a huge part. They’re crucial to balancing the side.
England’s new all-format coach Brendon McCullum recently said that you’ve been ‘a bit miserable at times’ because of injury and form issues…
I saw that, it’s tongue in cheek! I’ve had some good chats with ‘Baz’ and I’m really excited to get the chance to work with him. He was always one of those players that I looked up to. He’s had a huge impact with the Test team and now, being the all-format coach is great for English cricket.
Are we reverting to an age of a single head coach across formats, instead of specialized white-ball and red-ball roles?
There are pluses and minuses to both. Having that one guy across formats can have that consistent messaging, of course. At the time Brendon took over as Test coach along with Matthew Mott (former white-ball coach), the schedule for English cricket was incredibly busy. It looked impossible for one man to do it all. We had to balance that out. Now it’s obviously gone back to having that single head coach, but you’ll still have to be smart with schedules. There might be times when ‘Baz’ needs to step out for a series and one of the assistant coaches can take charge.
With so many people around to provide input, do you see the captain’s role diminishing in future, especially in T20 format?
I don’t see that at all. There’s more data but making those calls on the field is still crucial. It’s such a short game, every ball is important, saving one run or two runs here and there can go a long way to winning a game. Making those calls as captain is vital. There’s just more information for the captain if you need it.
(Watch the first ODI of the Australia tour of England on 19th Sept, 5:00 PM IST onwards LIVE On Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD channels)
