The England batsmen have succumbed thrice in four outings in the Tests against the West Indies so far, prompting Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, to question his players’ mentality. That stung the team particularly hard, Jos Buttler, the England vice-captain, has said.
England have been outplayed so far in the series, in all departments, but Buttler said they were determined to fight back in the third Test in St Lucia and prove Bayliss wrong.
“Were Trevor’s words stinging? Yes, of course,” Buttler said. “As a player, when those kinds of things are questioned, it can hurt your pride. You want to prove him wrong.
"What you don’t need are bowlers who are great at one thing and a bit of a liability the rest of the time."https://t.co/awwjgyhuyJ
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 7, 2019
“It has been a really disappointing tour so far. We have played well under what we are capable of and what we expect of ourselves. We have not been able to soak up areas of pressure West Indies have put on us and we haven’t got anything going in partnerships. Those are the areas we need to improve this week.”
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How can the England batsmen do that? Buttler said there was a lesson in the way Darren Bravo, the West Indies middle-order batsman, who patiently scored a 216-ball 50 in Antigua, went about things.
“Darren Bravo showed lots of guts and courage on a tough wicket,” Buttler added. “It was a good example of a way of playing and being brave. He took lots of blows. And sometimes that is what it takes.
“Bairstow batting at three, they have a big decision over that,” said Cook. “For him to work at three, he has to really want to do it. He’ll have to tighten up. With his attacking nature, he will be vulnerable when the ball is nipping around.”https://t.co/vewtoo9R2S
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 4, 2019
“But the guts, courage and determination of the group is very strong. We have not been good enough to show that at times on this tour. This week we will be looking to show lots more of that.”
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The vice-captain, once again, spoke of the need to adapt to the conditions, and put England’s brand of “fast-forward” cricket on hold. “If I look back at the games I’ve been involved in since I came back into the side, the conditions have been fast-forward cricket,” said Buttler. “That style of being bold and attacking has paid dividends at times.
“But we have to be smarter and adapt to our conditions. You’re always trying to adapt to conditions and play the situation accordingly, and we’ve been way off with that. The commitment side of things is a big part of it, to commit to your style of playing as an individual and a group.”
