England Hope For New Beginning After World Cup Disappointment

After their dreadful performance at the Cricket World Cup, England are hoping for a “new beginning” as they gear up for this month’s white-ball tour of the West Indies.

England came into this year’s 50-overs World Cup in India as the defending champions but were knocked out of the tournament in the league stage after finishing seventh in the 10-team competition.

Winning only three out of nine matches, Buttler’s side ended their campaign with six points, while their Ashes rivals Australia lifted the trophy after beating India in the final.

Three weeks after their World Cup disappointment, England are set to face the West Indies in three one-day international and five Twenty20 international matches.

The first ODI is set to be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday, and captain Buttler said the series will be the start of a new era for his side.

In the Caribbean, Buttler will lead a new-look England, with the captain one of only six players in the 16-man squad who featured in the ODI World Cup in India.

Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse are the others retained from the World Cup squad, while many senior players are rested for the tour, which will end on December 22.

“It’s certainly a bit of a new beginning,” Buttler told British media on Friday. “There’s some brilliant, exciting talent in this team. Young guys (are) eager to get their opportunities and perform.

“Some guys have not been exposed to ODI cricket a lot, but have a lot of experience in test cricket as well, guys that are not necessarily new to international cricket,” added Buttler.

“There’s a nice blend, there’s a real hunger to show off. There’s some great energy around the guys.”

Buttler said he feels the onus is on him to bring England back on track in the limited-overs format, which they have dominated in recent years.

“We’ve had one bad tournament, but we’ve been in a great place for a long time and you see the depth of the talent guys have got coming through,” said Buttler.

“We need to help shape the next period of white-ball cricket. That’s something I feel a nice responsibility towards and motivation for.”

Buttler had an underwhelming performance at the World Cup, averaging only 15.33 runs with the bat. The 33-year-old said he would use the upcoming series “as a positive experience” to bounce back.

“I’ve got to use it as motivation and hunger to push myself and the team forward,” he said.

“I’ve got to go into the rest of my career making sure I use that as a positive experience. It’s a huge disappointment but it doesn’t define me as a person or my whole career. I’ll just use it as something to make sure I look forward now and enjoy the challenges ahead.”

England squad for the series: Jos Buttler, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, John Turner.