Jos Buttler wants to stay on as England captain as he prepares for a World Cup post-mortem with his employers. This has been a miserable tournament for both Buttler and his side, with England’s title defence having yielded just two wins from eight games ahead of their group-stage finale against Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday. England will at least go into that match with their hopes of qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan via a top-eight finish at the World Cup still alive following Wednesday’s 160-run rout of the Netherlands.
That win ended a sequence of five straight defeats but Buttler was out for just five, taking the gifted white-ball batsman’s tally for the tournament to a mere 111 runs in eight innings at an average of under 14.
Buttler is set to meet with England cricket director Rob Key prior to this weekend’s clash with Pakistan, who still have hope of a semi-final place that has long since evaporated for England.
But amid a debate about whether England need to refresh their limited-overs leadership, the 33-year-old Buttler said he hoped to captain what is expected to be a much-changed squad on a tour of the West Indies next month.
“I’d like to,” he said. “I know Rob Key arrives into India today. We can have some good conversations with him and the coach and make a plan for that tour.”
Reflecting on Wednesday’s thrashing of the Netherlands, he added: “It’s been a frustrating time, not winning games of cricket or playing as well as we’d like, I’m delighted with this win.”
