Jacob Bethell backs Jos Buttler as tired Buttler a huge concern as England move closer to semi-finals — jacob bethell
Team-mate jacob bethell has moved to dismiss worries about Jos Buttler’s recent slump as England press deeper into the T20 World Cup, a matter that matters because Buttler’s tired form — and England’s reliance on him — could affect their path to the semi-finals.
Tired Jos Buttler and England's semi-final push
The headline worry is that a tired Jos Buttler has become a major concern as England move closer to the semi-finals. Buttler, described in the coverage as arguably England’s greatest white-ball batter, has been dismissed for three against Scotland and three against Italy and has not scored a fifty in 14 international innings this winter. He is England’s leading T20 run-scorer with 4, 003 runs in 139 innings, but form has dipped at a crucial stage of the tournament.
Recent innings, past fireworks and security of his place
Buttler’s last major contribution for England remains an 83 from 30 balls against South Africa in September, and he scored 97 not out for Durban Super Giants in the SA20 in January. However, in his other SA20 innings he made 12, 20, 15, 22, three and one. Given his illustrious career his place in England’s XI remains secure, even as the sequence of low scores piles up.
How Buttler is trying to correct poor form
Buttler has said he will not simply bat for himself as he tries to correct a poor run of form at the T20 World Cup. On his For the Love of Cricket podcast he said he would love to bat for 15 overs but did not want to do that "just for myself and ignore the game, " noting that in Test cricket a batting coach might tell a player to "rein it in and bat for an hour, " while in T20 you must keep playing the scoreboard. The 35-year-old was dismissed fourth ball while looking to clear the infield for the second match in a row against Italy, a sequence that led former captain Nasser Hussain to suggest Buttler should take time to build an innings. The question "Is Buttler's form a worry? England's T20 World Cup so far analysed" has been raised around those concerns.
Training in Sri Lanka and targeted practice
Buttler and England trained on Thursday for the first time since their win over Italy on Monday, after travelling to Sri Lanka. He had a lengthy regular net practice and then faced throw-downs from fielding coach Carl Hopkinson with a wet tennis ball on a soaked concrete strip — an apparent attempt to sharpen his reflexes ahead of the next phase of the competition.
Jacob Bethell dismisses doubts and his own injury
Jacob Bethell publicly dismissed any doubts about the opener’s form, saying: "He's fine. The options he has taken haven't come off but no one in that side is worried about Jos in terms of performance. He will come good when we need him in the big stages of this tournament. " jacob bethell also trained with a bandage on a finger on his left hand after suffering a cut during the defeat by West Indies, a wound that has meant he has been unable to bowl. Bethell looks ahead to the T20 World Cup Super 8s even as he manages that injury.
The squad now carries both the immediate practical work on reflexes and running the scoreboard, and a degree of internal reassurance from colleagues such as Jacob Bethell, even as the nation watches whether a player with more than 4, 000 T20 runs can rediscover the form that has long anchored England’s white-ball attack.
