England stalwart Jos Buttler started the World Cup with scores of 26 and 21 against Nepal and West Indies respectively, and was dismissed for just 3 against both Scotland and Italy in near-identical fashion, caught at mid-off trying to hit a seamer over the ring in the Powerplay.
Appearing on the For the Love of Cricket podcast, Buttler said “I’m a bit frustrated, to be honest. I felt like I was playing really well in South Africa, in the SA20, without getting scores. One thing I’d always pride myself on in T20s is, if you get in, to be able to go on and make a good contribution. I found myself getting out in the teens and twenties quite a bit, getting starts and then finding ways to get out.
“I think I have been trying a bit too hard, as opposed to just being a bit relaxed at the crease and letting it happen. The first two games, I got in, 20-odds, and not managing to go on and make those telling contributions is frustrating. And then a couple of low scores against Scotland and Italy. T20, you want to be positive and get on with it, but I made a couple of mistakes and got out.
“I love batting and I love playing cricket and I love scoring runs. As much as you’re frustrated with your form and you want to obviously contribute to the team, part of cricket is I love batting, and so not doing as much batting as you would like is frustrating. It’s just trying to remember the things that you do well at your best and trying to take each game as it comes.”
