‘Selection not why we were 77 all out’ – Jos Buttler blames batsmen
Jos Buttler’s assessment of England so far in the Barbados Test against West Indies was succinct: “Nowhere near good enough”.
England, bundled out for 77 on the second day, were set a daunting target of 628 on Friday, January 25, after Jason Holder’s double century and Shane Dowrich’s hundred.
England now face the prospect having to either bat out two days or make a dash for the chase – both of which are easier said than done against West Indies’ four seamers.
After 18 wickets fell on the second day at Barbados, none have fallen on the third. Test cricket is wild!
Keaton Jennings and Rory Burns have done well to get England to the close, but there is so, so much more to do.#WIvENG // #WIvsENG
SCORE ➡️ https://t.co/uIJ8ZfB6R4 pic.twitter.com/1GzRa5EIVy
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 25, 2019
It isn’t becoming of the No.3-ranked side in the ICC Test rankings by any stretch, and Buttler said it was a “good reality check” for England’s hopes of toppling India to take the top spot.
“With the bat we have fallen well below,” said Buttler. “Our aim is to be the No.1 side in the world and that was nowhere near good enough. We have had a good run of games, but when playing abroad it is about adapting to conditions.
“We have to be better at coming through tough situations when guys are bowling well. It is a good reality check as a side about where we are at.”
The West Indies pacemen bundled out England for 77 in the first innings
But as many runs as the bowlers conceded on Friday, the bowlers weren’t blame, the England vice-captain said. It’s all the batsmen’s fault, and Buttler said an inability to grind through the tough periods was a big worry.
“Today was pretty thankless out there but the guys kept putting in,” said Buttler. “Ben Stokes and Jimmy Anderson showed unbelievable passion to play for England by keeping going.
“(Being bowled out for 77) was a really poor reflection on us as a side. We are much better than that. In those situations, you always feel you will get a partnership and seize the initiative back. We were never able to do that.
“Over time they have had someone dig in. They’ve done it with Curran, but eventually he’s going to get out – he can’t do it from No.9, he’s only got Adil Rashid and Jimmy Anderson coming in after him.”https://t.co/0YAjXqFzaV
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 25, 2019
“We were not good enough to grind out a period of play and that really hurts you in Test cricket when you have a drastically poor session.”
England’s selection was poor. They went in with two spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, even as the home side opted for four seamers. As it turned out, Ali and Rashid had a frustrating day, and Buttler admitted England had erred in their XI.
The England spinners struggled, and Buttler admitted they had erred in selection
“Yes, potentially with hindsight,” said Buttler when the question was put to him. “It was a tough, brave call for the guys who make those decisions. [But] selection is not why we were 77 all out. That is the biggest factor in the game at the moment.
“Whether our selection was right or not, if we had scored runs in the first-innings, we would have been in a position to utilise that bowling attack. We did not get the runs on the board which probably highlighted that.”
