Buttler bemoans his batting woes after sixth World Cup loss
05-Nov-2023
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England slumped to their sixth defeat in seven matches when they lost to Australia by 33 runs on Saturday, officially ending their chances of reaching the knockout stages. Set a target of 287, England’s batters failed to fire once more, with Buttler dismissed for 1 at a crucial point in the chase. That effort sees the England captain’s tournament average slip to just 15.14, with only Liam Livingstone having a lower figure out of the team’s recognised batters. And Buttler says that his failures with the bat have been hugely frustrating. “Of all the things that have happened on this trip, I'd say my own form has been my biggest frustration, because you want to lead from the front as a captain,” Buttler said, after the loss to Australia. “Obviously, I've had a pivotal position in the batting line-up, so to play as poorly as I have done has had a big effect on the team.” England’s failure to defend their title has seen questions build over Buttler’s future as captain of the white-ball team. But the skipper says that he doesn’t feel like the captaincy has impacted on his lack of form with the willow. “The captaincy, it's something I've enjoyed in T20 cricket and ODI cricket before this tournament. I felt like it's brought out a lot of really good things in my batting," Buttler added.
