Taking off the gloves to help Jos Buttler enjoy England’s success

Jos Buttler admitted that easing his workload by giving up the role of wicketkeeper helped him enjoy England’s T20 series win over the West Indies even more.

England’s white-ball captain returned after four months out due to a calf injury as a specialist batter in five T20s in the Caribbean, delegating the gloves to Lancashire team-mate Phil Salt.

The decision allowed him to get closer to his bowlers and communicate with them more clearly, with fast bowler Saqib Mahmood emphasizing that his success in a 3-1 victory owed much to Buttler’s astute calls.

Although Buttler did not commit to the switch full-time, he enjoyed the experience after leading England to their first overseas T20 series triumph since October 2022.

“It’s been good for me to take one less thing off my plate,” Buttler said after the fifth and final T20 was destroyed in St Lucia on Sunday.

“If anything, it made me feel better – I don’t have to practice my wicketkeeping drills and you don’t expend energy on that side.

“Maybe you just have a little more time to think and see how the game plays out. Change is sometimes good. I liked being closer to the bowlers.

Taking the gloves off was a call made in conjunction with Brendon McCullum, who will take responsibility for the white-ball teams in the new year in addition to his duties as Test head coach.

McCullum has made it his mission to boost Buttler’s morale when he takes the reins after admitting the 34-year-old had been “miserable at times” during England’s two limited-overs World Cup surrenders.

Buttler himself is committed to savoring what remains of his career, with the primary mission of helping usher in the next generation of ODI and T20 cricketers, and he understands better what that means.

“It’s so easy to say ‘go out there and have fun’, but results play a role in that: you enjoy playing well, winning games of cricket and you strive to achieve that,” Buttler said .

“What I realize is that saying you want to go out and have fun doesn’t mean you don’t try any less or that you don’t want it as much as you did. It’s more about paying attention to the little moments.

“Sometimes you have blinders on and you’re just trying to win a game of cricket.

“I just try to keep my eyes wide open rather than just about races and results. Maybe not keeping wicket just gives me a little more time to do that, that’s something I’ve felt over the last week.

Saqib Mahmood celebrates a wicketSaqib Mahmood celebrates a wicket

Saqib Mahmood was named player of the series after England beat West Indies 3-1 in T20 (Ricardo Mazalan/AP)

Mahmood was named player of the series after picking up nine wickets in four matches, eight powerplay dismissals that often set the tone for England’s victories in the first three T20s.

Having missed out on a central contract after successive stress fractures limited his playing time in 2022 and 2023, Mahmood is making up for lost time and Buttler has been impressed with his performances.

“Having suffered an injury recently – nothing as serious as Saqy – you realize how hard work it is,” said Buttler, who reported no setbacks with his calf on Sunday night.

“He suffered these injuries while involved in all three formats for England and had a long period out. Putting in all that work to get to where he is as the leading man on the show is a testament to all his hard work.

“More than anything, he showed great skill with the ball and he got the results he deserved.”

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