Tactically and cricket wise Australia will still be an aggressive side, claims Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler, who is gearing up for ODI series against Australia, has claimed that Australia might tone down on verbal activities on the field, but would still remain an aggressive side in their game planning. Buttler has also opined that sledging is a ‘grey area’ and differs from person to person.
It would be the first time that Australia would be taking the field after the disastrous South Africa tour, in the ODI series against England. While the touring team would be having a lot to prove both on and off the field, the hosts wouldn’t be under any pressure, given their recent 4-1 victory in the ODI series on the tour of Australia.
This tour would also hold much importance for Australia as the real task of building up for the next year's World Cup would essentially begin now in conditions that it would take place in 2019. One of the main challenges for Australia would be to fill in the big shoes of Steve Smith and David Warner, who would not be around, but that Buttler stated that would not hold the tourists back from playing aggressive cricket.
"The mantras he lives by I saw a little bit. They'll be a highly-disciplined, hard-working team with a hard-nosed, competitive edge. They're still going to have that side, it's international cricket, it's hard and competitive. So I think they're coming, as well, with a bit of a point to prove and to put (the ball-tampering) behind them and start playing cricket again. So I expect a really tough series and tough cricket on the pitch."
Australia would be touring in England with a new leader in Tim Paine and new head coach Justin Langer. Both the men have the huge burden of helping Australia move away from the damages from the South Africa tour. Hence, they would be looking to tone down the verbal aggression, but would still be looking to play some hard cricket. Buttler, too, believed that their competitive edge would not be compromised at all. However, the 27-year-old claimed that '
"Maybe verbally, but I don't think tactically and
"There are obviously loads of different techniques, there is a grey area, I don't understand what's allowed and what isn't. People always say, ‘I know where the line is’ but it depends on whose line it is. It's a very hard area to judge.
"You wouldn't walk down the street and abuse a postman if he didn't deliver the letters in the right way. But at the same time, in professional sport, what did Steve Waugh call it? Mental disintegration - If you're making someone in the middle think about something else and not 100