Jos Buttler’s conundrum remains to be solved as white-ball reset in England takes first steps

Amidst the autographs and selfies there were still dashes towards the sky, wondering how many dark clouds remained. More, as it happens. Gradually, the crowd thinned out and, finally, Buttler retreated inside to find a place to hide.

Despite not playing at all in this final white-ball season in England’s 2024 season due to a calf injury, he remains a big-ticket winner. And thus, a conundrum yet to be solved. Although he played the same role as Ben Stokes in the Test series against Sri Lanka – nursing a torn left hamstring but on deck day in and day out – this reward for tough players braving the humidity was a job like England’s biggest ever – the Captain has worked.

Buttler was more withdrawn than the Test captain when he took the hands off. Sky’s cameras had to zoom in to find him behind the home balcony in Bristol, wrapped up in warmth and cheering players and coaches, as experts used a rain delay to help revive the white ball.

Sunday’s deadline closed out a September that began with one clear goal from the top. Having just been announced as Matthew Mott’s replacement after two unsuccessful World Cup defenses in nine months, Brendon McCullum has identified the key to reviving the program is to please the “miserable” Buttler.

Despite the long-lens smile, the man who was lucky enough to keep his job when Mott was relieved of his duties was by all accounts encouraged by the promising first phase of this latest “reset”. A T20I series draw and a 3-2 loss to the defending 50-over champions 2-0 showed that he has a lot to work on going forward.

Tresothick had been in McCullum’s role before the Kiwi started the job in early 2025. McCullum has been involved from a distance while preparing for the upcoming test tour of Pakistan. Communication has been constant, from input on selection issues, such as personnel and roles, and a handful of speeches after matches.

“There’s no reason why Jos can’t get back into that mold, score millions of runs, captain well and get back into the team completely.”

Marcus Trescothick to Jos Buttler returning as captain

“We always plan in advance when Brendon will enter the big tournaments,” said Trescothick. “That’s going to be the real judge, isn’t it? Bilateral series are fun, but the real deal is Champions Leagues, World T20s and World Cups.”

It will be the next two matches, against the West Indies at the end of October, where Buttler will make a slow comeback. And it was instructive that Trescothick felt the need to nip any talk of getting him a place in the XI in the bud, while admitting his return is up in the air.

“Let’s make it clear, he’ll be right back. I don’t know what position he’s in. We’ll look into the Caribbean.”

The imminence of the Pakistan tour – the third Test is scheduled to finish three days before the first ODI in Antigua on October 31 – may mean Buttler has resumed wicketkeeping. Jamie Smith is likely to be given time off before flying to New Zealand for the three-Test series in November, while Phil Salt’s average of 19.90 against Australia suggests he has yet to tackle the shorter formats.

Compared to Salt’s moonlighting in the T20I series, and Ollie Pope deputizing for Stokes in the latter half of the Test summer, Brook stands out as the leader in waiting. Trescothick praised Brook’s ability to march while setting the standard with the bat, finishing as the leading run-scorer of both teams in the ODI half, with 312 at 78.00.

“He reads the game very well and the way he has become a captain – the settings of the field and the decision-making – is very impressive. He is quiet and doesn’t play but he does the job in everything he has to do.”

Brook said he enjoyed his first taste of international captaincy leading England Under-19s before honoring his leadership at the Northern Supercharger this summer. He went on to say that he was looking forward to “taking the seat and letting Jos do it again”.

How long remains to be seen. Brook’s vision has been powerful enough to bring that conversation to the fore, at least among outside observers. But the person who will bring that discussion to the table will be Buttler.

This is still his patch, and the most important thing is to make sure he goes back more comfortably than before. Whatever changes and discussions took place against Australia, whether it was role-playing, off-field bonhomie, or broader changes in vision, it was as much about instilling courage in the next generation as it was about creating space for Buttler to flourish. As McCullum puts it, the goal no matter how long the 34-year-old plays, is to “just enjoy it”.

“I expect he will find it very exciting going forward,” said Trescothick. “As I’ve worked with Brendon and other coaches and the style that Brendon wants to put into white football, that’s what’s been going on before. [with the Test team].

“There’s no reason why Jos can’t fit into that mold, score millions of runs, captain well and get back into the team completely.”

There are reasons, however, that have not been touched upon for his absence from the field this past month. The next step, for England and Buttler, is working on them.