NZ vs ENG | Got nothing to lose with bat or gloves, admits Jos Buttler
After the emotional grind of a Cricket World Cup and Ashes series, Jos Buttler has revealed that he will go into the New Zealand series with nothing to lose on his batting or wicket-keeping work. Buttler also revealed he had been working with Marcus Trescothick to improve his red-ball game.
After a five-week break from cricket to recover from the busy English summer, the results of which were a World Cup trophy and a drawn Ashes series, Buttler hit some form with a century in England's drawn tour match against New Zealand A. Turns out, all the eye-catching improvement has come courtesy of working alongside the new head coach Chris Silverwood and former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick.
"I've nothing to lose with the bat or the gloves. It's a great time to be involved with a new head coach [Chris Silverwood]. It's a new challenge and I'm going to throw myself into it. It was a tough summer - physically and emotionally - great fun, a huge challenge and one you look back on with real fondness. But it took a lot out of most of us. The time we have had off has been invaluable,” Buttler said, reported Sportstar.
"I had a couple of net sessions at Somerset with Marcus Trescothick during this time. I really enjoyed that and got a lot out of it. It gave some building blocks to come here feeling in good touch," he said.
England may not have sealed the victory in the three-day warm-up contest, but skipper Joe Root was encouraged by his side's batting in Whangarei. Having long struggled with posting big scores in Test cricket — 374 being their highest during the Ashes — they managed to post 405 against NZ A.
"We want to bat long, especially in the first innings - get ourselves into the game and give us an opportunity of making really big scores. Four-hundred-plus, as generally you can dictate terms from there. It is something we have struggled with over the last couple of years, granted that at home, in particular, we have played on some very challenging surfaces," Root told Sky Sports.
"On flatter surfaces, like here, I think it's really important that we get into that mindset. I think we have done that really well so far in the two games that we have played, with a couple of guys looking in really good order. I feel we are in pretty good shape going into two big Test matches," Root added.
