T20 World Cup: Jos Buttler's form a problem for England

It feels wrong to be even asking the question.

Jos Buttler is one of England's all-time white-ball greats – a two-time World Cup winner.

But the 35-year-old has looked horribly out of touch over the past few weeks and his two against Pakistan was his fourth single-figure score in a row.

He has put in extra net sessions and faced local spinners, padded up against England's options as well as coaches with the dog stick, yet nothing has lifted him from his slump as yet.

Could England really make a change for Friday's final Super 8s match against New Zealand or next week's semi-final?

Here are the options facing England and the issues at play…

This remains the most likely scenario – overwhelmingly so.

Captain Harry Brook strongly backed his predecessor after Tuesday's win over Pakistan, saying a return to form is "just a matter of time".

"People have got to cut him a little bit of slack," Brook said.

"He's been phenomenal. He's arguably our best player, he's [just] not hitting them out of the middle at the minute."

Brook's faith is unsurprising.

Buttler is the fourth highest run-scorer in T20 international history. He scored 83 from 35 balls against South Africa last September.

But the right-hander has not scored a fifty in any of his 16 international innings this winter and this is now the longest run of single-figure scores in his T20 international career.

Though he has come through lean patches previously, the upturn has not always been immediate.

As England's 50-over World Cup spiralled in 2023, he did not score a fifty and made scores of nine, 15, eight, 10, one, five and 27 as his side exited the tournament.

This would be somewhat of a halfway house.

With Buttler struggling at the top, why not move him down the order where the pressure to score quickly is not as great? He does play the finisher role in 50-over cricket after all.

Buttler has batted at five and six 45 times in T20s for England, though not consistently since 2018.

This change would obviously require someone else to step up to open.

England have various options, given both Tom Banton and Will Jacks are openers by trade.

But Banton was recalled specifically to play a role in the middle order because of his prowess attacking against spin. Jacks has also been England's player of the tournament so far with 159 runs from 90 balls as a finisher.

Brook and Jacob Bethell have both opened in the Indian Premier League but Brook has just scored a stunning century at number three and Bethell is not the quickest starter.

You could simply swap Brook and Buttler, leaving Buttler to come in at first drop as he was up to the start of last summer for England. He also had a successful IPL at number three last year.

The way Buttler and Phil Salt complement each other in their opening partnership was viewed England's big strengths before the tournament, however.

None of these options are entirely straightforward.

The most drastic option also appears the least likely.

Buttler, who signed a new two-year central contract last year, has been a mainstay of England's white-ball teams for more than a decade. Could they really leave him out entirely for a World Cup semi-final?

That encounter may be at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where Buttler has made scores of 94 not out, 89 and 116 in the IPL.

Ben Duckett is the spare batter in England's squad - another man struggling for form.

Duckett is averaging 18.88 across 12 matches this winter across all formats and was out for a first-ball duck in his most recent innings at the start of the month.

Leg-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed would be a left-field replacement. That would be a massive call.

Perhaps Friday's match against New Zealand, effectively a dead rubber for England given they are already through, is the perfect, pressure-free opportunity for Buttler to help make the hierarchy's decision an easy one.

"Who is writing Jos Buttler off?," said former England spinner Alex Hartley.

"If you are, get a grip. He is one of those players where it takes one shot crunched through the covers and he will be back.

"It would be a worry if England were not winning games. I have no doubt when push comes to shove Jos Buttler will be OK."

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