Jos Buttler has spoken of the “honour and privilege” of being appointed as England captain for the one-day series in Bangladesh next month – but stressed that he regards himself as only a temporary replacement for Eoin Morgan.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to be asked to captain your country, whatever the circumstances are,” said the Somerset-born Lancashire wicketkeeper, speaking after a long day behind the stumps on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Division One leaders Middlesex at Emirates Old Trafford.
“For me it’s going to be a proud moment leading the guys out, and one I’m really looking forward to. It’s going to be a tough challenge against Bangladesh in their own conditions, but this is a great group of players to be part of. If we can go to Bangladesh and win that series it will show what fantastic strides we’ve made in one-day cricket, because they’re a really good side.”
The group of players will not include either Morgan or Alex Hales, the two players who confirmed to the director of England cricket Andrew Strauss over the weekend that they did not want to be considered for security reasons.
But Buttler was emphatic that their decision will not affect their standing in the eyes of their team-mates – and that he expects to return to the ranks under Morgan in the future, just as he did after making his England captaincy debut in a T20 international against Pakistan last winter.
“He’s very much still the captain of the England ODI side,” Buttler said of the left-hander. “He’s done a fantastic job over the last 18 months. He’s been one of the main reasons if not the main reason for the turnaround in fortunes and the style of cricket he’s got the side playing, and that’s something we want to continue.
“It’s been a tough decision for everyone. It’s very much a personal decision – that was made clear by the ECB – and one he hasn’t taken lightly. As a colleague and a friend I completely respect his decision, as I know everyone in the dressing room does. He’ll have thought long and hard about it, and made the decision that’s right for him.
“It’s very new to a lot of people, reading things in the press and having quite a lot of information about it you do have some worries. You do think long and hard about it, let the dust settle for a bit and try and work through it logically.
“We’re a very close team, a lot of good friends, and as a side we did have some discussions about how people felt, certain people’s worries, and at the end of the day we said it’s a completely personal decision.
“We’re a very tight group of players and we want to remain that way. We won’t let anything like this come between any of us in the side. We’re all working towards the Champions Trophy here next summer and the World Cup a couple of years later - that’s the goal for everyone in that dressing room, and the players who are in there are the players who we want to be winning that trophy together.”