Between autographs and selfies, I sometimes frowned at the sky and wondered how many dark clouds were left. There are actually a lot. The crowd gradually thinned out and eventually Butler retreated inside to seek cover.
Despite not playing at all during this white-ball finale of England’s 2024 season due to a calf injury, he remains of great interest. So there is still a mystery to be solved. He adopted a similar role to Ben Stokes during the Test series against Sri Lanka, but suffered a torn left hamstring but was rehabilitated on deck every day. Rewarding the hardy players who braved the humidity was Britain’s most statesmanlike duty. The Over Captain performed.
Buttler was even more withdrawn than the Test skipper throughout the hand-off briefing. Sky’s cameras had to zoom in to find him in the back row of Bristol’s Home View balcony. He was wrapped up warm and having fun with his players and coaches. Pundits took advantage of the rain delay to heap praise on his role in this white-ball replay.
Sunday’s finale capped off a September that began with one clear goal from above. After being announced as Matthew Mott’s replacement following two failed World Cup defenses in nine months, Brendon McCullum confirmed the key to revitalizing the setup will be rooting for the “miserable” Buttler.
Aside from a long smile, the man who was lucky enough to keep his job when Mott was fired is by all accounts energized by this promising first step in this latest “reset.” A drawn T20I series and a 3-2 loss to the defending 50-over champions by 2-0 showed that he has plenty of room to move forward.
Tresothick has essentially acted as McCullum’s stand-in before the New Zealander takes over the job in early 2025. McCullum has been involved from far and wide as they prepare for the upcoming Test tour of Pakistan. Regular communication took place, ranging from opinions on selection matters such as personnel and roles to several reports after the game.
“There is no reason why Joss can’t fit back into that mold, score millions of runs, captain well and fit perfectly into the team.”
Marcus Trescothick returns as captain to Jos Buttler
“We’re always planning ahead for Brendon to join and for bigger tournaments,” Trescothick said. “That’s the real refereeing, right? The bilateral series are great, but the real pinnacle is the Champions Trophy, the World T20 and the World Cup.”
The next bilateral match against West Indies in late October will be when Buttler returns from his match briefing. And it was instructive that Trescothick felt the need to sweep aside any talk of finding a place for himself in the XI, admitting the exact shape of his return is up in the air.
“Let me be clear, he will be right back. I don’t know where he will be. We will look at the Caribbean.”
As the tour of Pakistan approaches (the third Test is scheduled to be completed three days before the first ODI in Antigua on October 31), Buttler is likely to take the wicket again. Jamie Smith will be rested before traveling to New Zealand for a three-Test series in November, while Phil Salt’s average of 19.90 against Australia suggests he has not yet figured out the longer of the shorter formats.
Against Ollie Pope, who moonlights for Salt for the T20I series and replaces Stokes for the final half of the Test summer, Brook stands out as the leader of the standby. Trescothick praised Brook’s ability to marshal while setting standards with the bat and finished as the top scorer for both teams in the ODI portion with 312 at 78.00.
“He reads the game very well and the way he captains himself (setting up the field and making decisions) is very positive. He is quiet and humble, but he gets everything he needs to do done.”
Brook said he enjoyed being captain of the national team for the first time, leading the England Under-19 team before honing his leadership skills with Northern Superchargers this summer. He went on to say that he was looking forward to “putting his seat behind him and letting Joss do it again.”
How much longer will we have to wait? Brooke’s impression was strong enough to move the conversation forward, at least among those watching from the outside. But it will be Butler who will bring that conversation to the table.
This is still his patch, and the biggest priority is to get him back in the slot more comfortable than before. Whatever the change and conversation about Australia – whether it’s role playing, off-field nannying or simply a wider change in perspective – it’s been as much about emboldening the next generation as it is about creating an environment in which Buttler can thrive. As McCullum said, the 34-year-old’s goal for however long he has been away is to “just enjoy it.”
“I expect him to have some really fun things ahead,” Trescothick said. “It’s something that’s been going on before (with the Test team), working with Brendon and the other coaches and the style that Brendon wants to implement in the white ball.
“There is no reason why Joss can’t fit back into that mold, score millions of runs, captain well and fit perfectly into the team.”
However, due to his absence from the field over the past month, there is a reason why everything has remained the same. The next step for England and Buttler is to work through them.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is the Editor-in-Chief of ESPNcricinfo.
