Jos Buttler says England hit with ‘reality check’ after failing to win home white-ball series this summer | Cricket News

Jos Buttler on England’s hammering by South Africa in T20I decider: “We do need an honest chat. You don’t want to overreact to situations but you could sense the frustration around the ground with the ‘get on with it, England’ chants. You don’t want to be associated with that”

Jos Buttler says England have been hit with a “reality check” after failing to win a home white-ball series this summer, with the skipper urging his players not to dwell on their past successes

England produced a listless batting display as they were demolished for 101 in Sunday’s T20I decider against South Africa in Southampton, with a 2-1 defeat to the Proteas following a drawn ODI series against the same opposition and 2-1 reverses to India in 20-over and 50-over cricket.

Buttler – who took over from 2019 50-over World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan in late June – said: “I think is it a reality check.

“We haven’t played out best cricket by a long stretch and I don’t think we have been able to impose ourselves.

“We can’t live in the past and pat ourselves on the backs for the changes that have been made in English cricket and the successes we have had.

“It’s about looking forward, trying to chase the best teams in the world and being at the forefront of that.

Jos Buttler: ‘We can’t live in the past and pat ourselves on the backs for the changes that have been made in English cricket and the successes we have had’

Buttler: We fell short with the way we played

Buttler added after England’s 90-run defeat at The Ageas Bowl: “We do need an honest chat.

“You don’t want to overreact to situations but you could sense the frustration around the ground with the ‘get on with it, England’ chants.

“You don’t want to be associated with that. You can cope with losing but you want to make sure you stay true to what you believe in and I think we fell well short with the way we played.

“The disappointing thing was the way we went down. We lacked intent and confidence and didn’t put the opposition under pressure. We never managed to fire shots and wrestle the initiative.

“We have to work out where that lack of consistency comes from. Whether it’s over-confidence or lack of confidence, we have not been able to back up performances.

“As individuals and as a team we have not played our best. The first place I would look is myself. I want to lead from the front as captain and I know I haven’t performed at the level I would like to.”

England have gone through a home summer without winning a white-ball series for the first time since 2013

England have 10 more T20 internationals before their World Cup opener against Afghanistan in Perth on October 22, with seven games in Pakistan from mid-September and then three in Australia.

‘England looked tentative’ I Mott: This is a line in the sand

When asked by Sky Sports Cricket’s Ian Ward whether he would call England’s batting effort against South Africa at The Ageas Bowl ‘timid”, former skipper Morgan said: “I would. England’s strength is their aggressive batting but they looked tentative in this game.

“In previous years, England would have played a lot more shots earlier as opposed to giving it more thought, more calculation.

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“You get closer to losing the game than moving it on. [Former England head coach] Trevor Bayliss always used to talk about stamping your authority but we didn’t see that from England at all.

“I can’t put my finger on it because the personnel hasn’t changed that much, other than me retiring and Ben Stokes not being in this squad, and the batters, right down to No 8, are very aggressive.”

England white-ball coach Matthew Mott said the thrashing by South Africa is a “line in the sand moment” adding: “We were down on confidence with bat and ball.

“We’ll want to use The Hundred really well to get that confidence so when we get ready for Pakistan and the World Cup we’re a bit of a different team.”

The Hundred starts on Wednesday with defending men’s champions Southern Brave welcoming Welsh Fire to The Ageas Bowl. Watch build-up from 6.30pm on Sky Sports The Hundred ahead of the first ball at 7pm.