Andrew Miller on Jos Buttler's resignation - captain goes down with the ship as England journey comes full circle

Andrew Miller on Jos Buttler’s resignation – captain goes down with the ship as England journey comes full circle

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Ten years ago, England faced a devastating defeat to New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup, led by Brendon McCullum, now their coach. This humiliation sparked England’s transformation into aggressive cricket, known as Bazball, underpinning their successful 2019 World Cup run. Jos Buttler, who struggled during the 2015 match, became central to this evolution but faced challenges maintaining his form and leadership amid recent failures. As England’s captain, Buttler’s mood deeply influenced his performance, raising concerns about his role in revitalizing the team. Despite the setbacks, the hope lies in nurturing young talent for a potential recovery in future competitions.

Nearly ten years ago, almost to the date, England’s cricketers faced a humiliation that surpassed even their Champions Trophy exit to Afghanistan. The blow was delivered by none other than Brendon McCullum, then the captain of New Zealand and now the England coach, marking what would soon become their most significant defeat in white-ball cricket history.

The match took place in Wellington during the 2015 World Cup, where McCullum’s blistering 12-ball fifty exploded through a breach created by Tim Southee, who, alongside a baying Kiwi crowd, wreaked havoc with his career-best figures of 7 for 33. England’s defeat, by eight wickets, was underscored by the staggering fact that 326 balls remained unused – more than a complete 50-over innings.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, that day heralded the start of England’s Bazball transformation. The narrative has since intertwined the fates of England and McCullum: initially through his deep personal friendship with Eoin Morgan, who adopted and adapted McCullum’s aggressive approach to resounding success in the 2019 World Cup, and later, in 2022, through the revitalization of the Test team under McCullum and Ben Stokes – representing a transfer of that fearless mentality from white-ball to red.

Jos Buttler was not just a central figure in the Morgan revival; he had also become a cause célèbre in the 2015 disaster. In the Carnage at the Cake Tin, he made just 3 runs off 7 balls while batting at No. 7, entering after players like Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, and James Taylor, relegated to an outdated “finisher” role in an innings that was effectively doomed at 104 for 5 in the 27th over.

To highlight the absurdity of this role assignment, it’s worth noting that Buttler’s only previous hundred had come from a similar predicament: 111 for 5 in the 29th over against Sri Lanka at Lord’s the summer before, where he remarkably scored 121 off 74 balls, yet still found himself on the losing side. The path to rectification was clear. More aggressive batting at the top, enhanced trust throughout, and a more prominent role for the best white-ball player of his generation. In June 2015, in the opening match of the new era, Buttler scored 129 off 77 balls (against New Zealand, inevitably) to propel England to their first 400-plus total, as if fulfilling a prophecy.

Yet, throughout this decade of closely-knit association – and despite McCullum’s fond remarks about their friendship during his comprehensive transition to England’s white-ball coach – Buttler had never truly experienced that legendary locker room influence. That is, until this brief and painful partnership that lasted barely six weeks. Nine defeats in ten matches would be unfortunate in any context. Adding another global-trophy failure to the mix made the captaincy untenable. No wonder McCullum expressed overwhelming “sadness” during Buttler’s resignation press conference, as their collaboration was never given a fair chance.

Partially, Buttler has been a victim of circumstances, as McCullum hinted. Ideally, he would have been a stellar addition to the core of generational legends – Stokes, Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Jonny Bairstow – without whom the initial Bazball project would have never taken flight. Instead, he remained somewhat distanced from their exploits, tasked with upholding the standards of the white-ball team after Morgan’s unexpected retirement in June 2022.

Even amidst all the reflection, Buttler succeeded excellently at his first attempt to reach that goal. Yet, while steering England to the T20 World Cup victory in 2022, questions lingered about whether he had truly imprinted his style on the team that Morgan had meticulously built, or merely executed the right strategies to elicit the necessary responses from players he had already collaborated with: Stokes and Adil Rashid being prime examples.

Those uncertainties were amplified in 2023, when England’s attempt to reunite the 2019 squad ended in spectacular failure during the 50-over World Cup in India. Since then, even with McCullum taking on the role of head coach for all formats, which suggests a renewed commitment to white-ball cricket, the approaching Ashes series holds greater significance for realignment. Despite the short-term setbacks, consistent communication with emerging talents like Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, and Ben Duckett, alongside England’s hard-working fast bowlers, could be pivotal in a campaign that defines their legacy.

So, where does Buttler fit into this equation? All captains under pressure must inevitably ponder the question he posed on Wednesday night: “Am I part of the problem or part of the solution?”. However, while Morgan in 2015 would have initially scrutinized his reflection and then considered an underleveraged crop of eager young talent – Buttler, Stokes, Jason Roy, and Jonny Bairstow among them – and recognized that they simply needed an opportunity, England’s current predicament calls for a more sober outlook.

“Few players from Buttler’s generation have had performances that seemed so reliant on their mood. His well-known bat-handle message has long served as a reminder to restore focus, yet his ingrained pessimism was on display even during the Afghanistan defeat.”

At the time of his ODI debut in February 2012, Buttler had already established himself as a star on the county one-day circuit, accumulating 854 runs at an average of 71.17 in his initial two seasons with Somerset, including appearances in two Lord’s finals. In an early showcase of the ECB’s concerns regarding attention spans, the format back then was 40-overs, not 50, which surprisingly helped develop players’ aggressive instincts without sacrificing technique or endurance, as noted by Matt Roller and Tim Wigmore in White Hot, their examination of England’s white-ball revival.

In stark contrast, the introduction of the Hundred has eliminated all such long-term considerations, along with the top-tier players. Brook, seen as Buttler’s successor, hadn’t participated in a single List A match since May 2019 until his ODI debut against South Africa in 2023. While Smith had an impressive average of 63.00 during Surrey’s run to the One-Day Cup semi-final in 2021, his rise to marquee status in the Hundred means he may never again compete in a tournament that serves as a vital developmental platform for counties during those neglected summer months.

Thus, it’s difficult to fault Buttler for his muted reception of the “white-ball Bazball” concept compared to the enthusiasm and optimism Stokes displayed for the red-ball initiative. A player of his experience and success, alongside such an impressive cast, has little incentive to believe the best is yet to come. Of his 2019 team-mates, only Rashid is performing at a level close to what’s needed, and he is now 37. Buttler has recorded three fifties in 15 innings across formats since November, having been sidelined for five months due to a calf injury.

Moreover, if the essence of the Bazball philosophy is a confidence strategy – a mindset that allows one to set aside the implications of their choices and simply play freely – then Buttler was never the ideal champion for such an approach. Despite his numerous achievements, few players from his generation have shown performances as reliant on their emotional state. His famous bat-handle reminder has long been a tool to help him regain focus, yet his intrinsic pessimism was evident during the Afghanistan match when he managed just 12 runs off 24 balls before finally blasting a six that briefly brought him back into the game.

This context might also provide fresh perspective on McCullum’s insistence, at his unveiling at The Oval last September, on trying to uplift his “miserable” captain. At the time, it felt like a light-hearted remark, yet it may have conveyed a more desperate plea than anyone realized.

If Buttler, against all odds, couldn’t be encouraged to overcome his skepticism at the beginning of this alliance, then who realistically could fill the resulting void? A decade after that pivotal defeat, England’s standards may have lowered alongside their skipper.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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