T20 World Cup: Jos Buttler backs these two players to step up for England in absence of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer
England will go into the 2021 T20 World Cup, which is to begin later this month, without two of their biggest stars in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. While Ben Stokes has taken a break from cricket to focus on his mental health, Archer has been ruled out with an elbow injury for the rest of the year.
England's white ball vice-captain Jos Buttler, however, remains confident of their chances of completing a World Cup 'double', with the side having won the 2019 World Cup.
England's squad for the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup is out 📰
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Buttler said England are still "one of the favorites" for the tournament in the UAE.
"I think we’re certainly one of the favourites, I think we’re a brilliant team. I know we’re going to be missing Ben and Jofra, two superstars, but I think you still look down that list and there’s some real match winners in our side and that’s really exciting," Buttler was quoted as saying at an event by British media outlets.
Speaking about players who can step up in the absence of the two mainstays in the England team, Buttler pointed out Liam Livingstone and Tymal Mills.
On Livingstone, Buttler said:
"You look at the opportunities Liam Livingstone was presented with this summer and the way he’s taken his game from those T20 series and The Hundred. That confidence he’ll go into the World Cup with is fantastic."
Speaking about Mills, the England vice-captain said:
"I enjoyed watching The Hundred and seeing Tymal operate again. We’ve seen him a bit before in an England shirt and it’s a fantastic story for him to be back at a World Cup. I think that left-arm angle and extreme pace [will be great] and he’s got a pretty good slower ball as well. He's a great guy to have in your squad that can pose a lot of problems and has been performing brilliantly well. He’ll come into that tournament with confidence."
No extra pressure on England without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer: Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler noted that there are several players in the England squad for T20 World Cup who want to step up and perform. He feels the squad is not burdened with extra pressure in the absence of Stokes and Archer.
"Not at all, really. I'm always desperate to be there at the nuts and bolts of the game and be at the coalface, so I want to perform for the team and I think there are a number of guys that are exactly the same," Buttler said.
While some players in the England squad don't boast a lot of international experience, Buttler said they can draw from the experience of playing in T20 leagues across the world. Some players within the squad have played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as other leagues, and they will also always have the senior players in the team to talk to.
"You talk about guys haven't got that experience yet but there are a lot of people they can call upon and discuss that with. I think it's a little bit different in this day and age with the advent of the franchise tournaments so guys will have been in high-pressure situations in the IPL, the Hundred, the Big Bash. In an international tournament, they'll have those experiences to call upon," Buttler said.
See the full list of all T20 World Cup 2021 venues here.
England will begin their T20 World Cup campaign with a Super 12 match against West Indies on October 23. They also have Australia and South Africa in their group, and the four teams will be joined by two T20 World Cup teams from the group stage prior to the Super 12s.
🚨🚨 2021 #T20WorldCup fixtures announced 🚨🚨
IND vs PAK - October 24
ENG vs AUS - October 30
Rest of the fixtures 👇👇