Ashes 2021-22 | Fully determined to enjoy all the challenges in my first Ashes series in Australia, says Jos Buttler

England’s preparation for the upcoming all-important Ashes series has been disrupted by weather in Brisbane, and there does linger some uncertainty on the series with the emergence of the new covid-119 variant Omicron.

The bio-bubble life has been a major challenge for cricketers in a packed schedule over the last few years, but for Jos Buttler, one of England’s premier all-format players, the job is all about being able to walk into different situations being fully prepared.

“In this day and age, lots of us go between formats quite often. In the COVID era things have changed quite a lot as well, with quarantine rules making certain things a little bit trickier,” Buttler told reporters.

“I do think it’s something that you just have to deal with as a modern player, to be able to walk into situations without having full preparation.

“No team should be using that as excuses, you can still turn up on that first day and play a really good Test match.”

Buttler, who was a part of England’s victorious 2015 Ashes campaign and a 2-2 drawn one in 2019 - both at home - is yet to play a Test in Australia. He looks forward to a challenge that begins towards the end of a “disjointed” year, and believes in adopting a fearless approach while trying to embrace the opportunity.

"I feel like I have nothing to lose, to be honest," he said. "It's sort of been disjointed, that just gone. Some good form and some bad form and in the year before as well. It's the first time I'm experiencing an Ashes series [in Australia] so I'm fully determined to enjoy all the challenges that throws up. I'm excited to experience it, the good the bad, and I'm sure the highs and lows along the way.

"As a player at the minute I'm trying to bring a fearless approach and to truly try and embrace the opportunity. I know when I get to somewhere near my best that's going to be pretty good."

Buttler does have the experience of playing white-ball cricket Down Under, having played 18 ODIs, five T20Is, while also having plied his trade for the Melbourne Renegades and most recently Sydney Thunder. The swashbuckling right-hander stressed the value of practice and learnings from the experience to gear himself up for the challenge.

"Familiarity with some conditions is something I can dip into and hopefully not be surprised by," Buttler said. "But I think the challenge always as a player is to adapt to any conditions that are in front of you and adapt quickly. The practice, when you can practice, is incredibly important for that and your first five, 10 balls are vital as a player to understanding the conditions and playing accordingly. But certainly I will try to dip into that experience and I'm in my early 30s now so played quite a bit of cricket and hopefully know what to expect."

The emergence of the covid-19 Omicron variant could well mean stricter quarantine rules and changes to international border restrictions, which would make it even more difficult for the players without their families. Buttler believes that it was too early to think of a situation which is beyond anyone’s control.

"It's a hypothetical situation at the minute,” he said. “Until we get told that something's changed there's no decision to make and it just adds to the unknown. So it's things I don't really need to worry about at the moment. If something like that happens I have to get the information and we can work through it and see how that looks."