T20 World Cup: England batter Jos Buttler will not bat for himself to correct poor form
Buttler’s last major contribution for England was 83 from 30 balls against South Africa in September, but given his illustrious career, his place in England’s XI remains intact.
He scored 97 not out for the Durban Super Giants in the SA20 in January but did score 12, 20, 15, 22, three and one in his other innings.
“I felt like I played really well without taking any points in the SA20,” Buttler said. “What I’ve always prided myself on in T20 is if you get involved, go and make a good contribution.”
Buttler and England trained on Thursday for the first time since beating Italy on Monday after traveling to Sri Lanka.
Buttler had a long steady net practice and then faced fielding coach Carl Hopkinson’s throws on a concrete strip soaked with a wet tennis ball; this was a clear attempt to sharpen his reflexes.
Teammate Jacob Bethell dismissed doubts about the opener’s form.
“He’s fine,” Bethell said. “The options he took didn’t pan out but no one on that side is worried about Jos’ performance.
“He will come in well when we need him in the big stages of this tournament.”
Bethell was training with a bandage on the finger of his left hand. He suffered a cut during the win against the West Indies which meant he was unable to bowl.
The injury situation will be reassessed before England play hosts Sri Lanka in the first match of the Super 8s stage at Pallekele on Sunday.
They progressed unconvincingly in the group stage with thrilling wins over Italy, Scotland and Nepal as well as defeat against the West Indies, but ahead of the World Cup they beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20 series in three matches at Pallekele.
“Beating a good Sri Lanka team 3-0 on home soil in their own conditions was a huge confidence boost for us,” said Bethell.
“You can feel it in the group where the kids are confident they will come back here.
“We know the conditions, we know how a few teams are going to play. We have absolutely, absolutely a lot of confidence in these Super 8s.”
