Image Credit- AP
“A victory is a victory,” ought to have been
the storyline. Even while it wasn’t the confidence boost they were hoping for,
it was a grim, unclean performance that an England squad reeling from many
diagnoses of #disarray might look back on as a positive step.
Ultimately, Jos Buttler’s catchphrase should have said
“good teams lose when they play well,” not “good teams win when
they play badly.”
“I thought we played really well,” Buttler
said in the moments after England had fallen to a four-wicket defeat that had
seen the West Indies score 113 runs off the final 61 balls of their innings.
“We were positive and aggressive and put the pressure on the West Indies
at the start. Even when we got pushed back the guys were positive enough to
keep throwing punches. It took a fantastic partnership between Hope and
Shepherd in the last 10 or 12 overs for them to win the game.”
Buttler told the reporters two days ago that one of
the most important things he took away from the World Cup was the value of
taking care of his own game. Not for his own benefit, but rather because a
happy Buttler equals a happy England.
This squad has lost its winning formula and this
player is out of form. England threw away a victory that seemed impossible with
West Indies five down and only two ODI half-centuries remaining in their
batting lineup, despite Buttler’s three runs off 13 balls. Joyful Buttler,
joyous England. England is unhappy, Buttler is sad.
Though England’s performance was not as good as the
sum of its parts, it appeared that it would be sufficient for a while, despite
Buttler’s remarks. While some players demonstrated why they were selected, none
of them possessed the kind of game that would calm the worries of this young
white-ball team.
Zak Crawley got himself in, then ran himself out; Phil
Salt got off to a flyer, then got out; Will Jacks played with run-a-ball
caution, then got out. And so it goes on and on.
Of course, failure to defend 325 cannot solely be laid
at the personal form of a struggling captain. But the struggles of a leader are
often taken on by their followers.
All things considered, the clearest sign that we are
in a new era comes from Buttler’s remarks this evening. Even though they let up
a win that, in all honesty, should have been routine, the team is inexperienced
in the format, as a whole, and doesn’t deserve a public scolding from their
captain.
However, this is no longer Manchester United under Sir
Alex Ferguson. Although Buttler’s public praise of a losing squad may seem
strange, he would have sounded even more brutal in private if he had told his
20-something teammates when they were in their dressing room on their first
trip together that they were all garbage.