Jos Buttler reveals he feared losing England captaincy ahead of T20 return against West Indies

Jos Buttler has revealed he feared losing the England white-ball captaincy but is more determined than ever to lead their “next era” alongside Brendon McCullum.

England’s surrender of both limited-overs World Cups within the space of a few months led to Matthew Mott’s sacking as head coach, but managing director of cricket Rob Key opted to persevere with Buttler.

Buttler has linked up with England in Barbados ahead of his return this week but he will not take the wicketkeeping gloves in the T20 series against the West Indies, which begins on Saturday.

“I thought it was a possibility, absolutely,” admitted Buttler when asked if he felt the decision to be stripped of the captaincy could have gone the other way.

“But ‘Keysy’ believed I could lead the team forward and captain into the future. I had some good conversations with him and I said I didn’t want to be doing it because I’m the only person to do it, I want to be doing it because I’m the right person to do it.

“I’ve really enjoyed the honour of doing it, it’s something I believe I can do well, something I know I can always get better at, just as with batting or wicketkeeping, it’s a skill that you can improve.

“It actually became very clear that you’re determined to do it and keep going.”

Buttler felt a sense of “responsibility” for Mott’s axing following England’s T20 World Cup semi-final exit in June, with McCullum poised to replace the Australian in January and unify the coaching roles.

McCullum, who has coached England’s Test side since April 2022, has outlined his mission to cheer up Buttler in a bid to reverse England’s flagging ODI and T20 fortunes after labelling him “miserable at times” during their continued woes.

Being absent for four months with a nagging calf injury has given Buttler a fresh outlook on the rest of his career and, following several chats with McCullum, the 34-year-old double World Cup winner is intent on appreciating the time he has left, as well as preside over an ongoing white-ball reset.

“However long I play for and hopefully it’s a long time, I just want to be present and help develop the next era of white-ball cricket and just really, really enjoy this part of my cricket,” said Buttler.

“I don’t have to try and protect anything or sort of hang on, I just want this to be an incredibly fulfilling time of my life.

“When you get an injury like that, it makes you realise how desperately you want to get back and the stuff that you really enjoy doing so that’s the mindset of however long I’ve got back.”

Buttler: I’m quite happy fielding

Buttler’s third calf injury in the space of four years has sidelined him since the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, with a couple of setbacks ruling him out of Australia’s white-ball tour of England in September and an ODI series defeat against the West Indies in the last week.

He is set to make his comeback in Saturday’s first T20 in Barbados as a specialist batter, with Phil Salt taking on wicketkeeper duties, which allows Buttler to communicate more freely with his bowlers.

Buttler admitted the decision was made in consultation with McCullum, who himself started out with the gloves before relinquishing them to focus on his duties as New Zealand captain.

“His back wasn’t allowing him to to keep wicket. But when he moved to be close to the bowler, he found it incredibly beneficial and a great place to captain from – being close to the bowler and making maybe the last-minute calls,” he said.

“I’m open to something if it’s going to be good for me, good for the team. I’m quite happy fielding. I think there’s pluses and minuses to both sets of things.

“I’m very committed to it for this series. At the end of the series, I can see how it went, how I enjoyed it, what were the really good things that it allowed me to do, and then move on from there.”

West Indies bring in star players for T20s

West Indies have drafted in a number of their star players in Akeal Hosein, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, and Andre Russell for the first two T20s against England.

The quartet all missed the recent trip to Sri Lanka for personal reasons and only Hetmyer featured in the Windies’ recent 2-1 ODI series victory over England.

But they have been recalled ahead of a weekend double-header against Buttler’s side in Bridgetown.

Alzarri Joseph is absent due to a two-match ban imposed by Cricket West Indies for his spat with captain Shai Hope during a series-sealing win over England at the Kensington Oval on Wednesday.

Matthew Forde, named player of the ODI series, replaces Joseph in a 15-strong squad. The Windies will reconvene after Saturday and Sunday’s fixtures ahead of the final three matches next week in St Lucia.

“The T20 team is our most settled team with lots of experienced players,” said Windies head coach Daren Sammy.

“However, the difficulty will be picking the XI, as every single player is challenging for a spot in the XI.

“As we face a very good England team, I am confident that the selected squad will continue to play a brand of cricket that allows us to win games and this series.”