Harry Brook is standing by Jos Buttler, even though England’s former white-ball captain can’t buy a run just now. Buttler’s second-ball duck against New Zealand in Colombo left him with 62 runs from seven knocks at this T20 World Cup. Five scores in single figures, no boundary in his last five visits to the crease – the numbers look grim.
Yet Brook, who inherited the armband after last year’s Champions Trophy flop, has little appetite for change before next week’s semi-final in Mumbai, likely against India or the West Indies.
“There’s been a lot said about Jos,” Brook reminded reporters on Friday evening. “I said the other day that he’s played 150 [154] games for England [in T20Is] and people probably need to take a little step back from that. He’s probably the best white-ball player to have ever played the game.
“He’s in a little bit of a rut now, but I think that’s an exciting thing for everybody in the world to know what he could produce in the next couple of games. He’s obviously got a lot of fire in the belly and he wants to go out there and show everybody what he’s made of.
“Look, he averages 34 [33.77] striking at 145 [147.77] in 150 [154] games. He’s a phenomenal player and I have no doubts he’ll go out and do well.”
Ben Duckett is the spare batter in the 15, able to slot in at the top if the selectors feel bold. For now the mood is to hold nerve. Buttler’s lean run stretches back through England’s winter: 24 innings for just one fifty-plus score – 97 in the SA20 – and only one half-century (83 v USA in 2024) across England’s last four ICC tournaments. Form is temporary, the old line goes, but this blip is edging towards a season.
Brook offered a similar vote of confidence to teenager Rehan Ahmed, star of the seven-wicket win over New Zealand with his brisk 30 and two wickets, though the captain admitted the leg-spinner may still sit out the knockout if the Wankhede looks seam-friendly.
“We’ve seen what Reh can do in the nets and he’s gone out there and played beautifully there, and taken the game away from them,” Brook said. “There’s conversations to be had but we said from the start of the comp – and we said it to the group – we’re going to select on conditions, and we thought that today was the perfect opportunity to bring him in, and he did an amazing job.”
England will fly to Mumbai over the weekend, training lightly before deciding on their XI. Buttler, by his own high standards, is under pressure, but the dressing-room view is simple: big players tend to turn up when the stakes are highest.
