In cricket, England’s four-year, two-month, and 21-day reign as defending ODI World Cup champions ended on a Thursday. This marked the beginning of a new tournament where they joined 10 other teams, each nurturing identical dreams and theoretically equal chances of victory. However, it was a title that England’s Jos Buttler was content to relinquish, as he boldly declared, “We’re not ‘defending’ anything. I want us to attack.”
The preceding weeks, it had been inundated with discussions about the 2019 World Cup, with New Zealand being England’s first opponents in this new campaign, just as they were in that epic final. But for Buttler, the past is something to be left behind. He remarked, “For me, the past is in the past; you can’t recreate something or hold on to it forever. It’s all about something new. It’s fantastic to be reigning champions, but we’ve returned that trophy. It’s done.”
Buttler explained, “Stuff in the past can be nice reference points. I never believed in experience as a young player, and I thought you could either do it or not. But as an older player, there are times that things happen, and they are nice to reference back to. I don’t like the word ‘defending.’ It may have motivated certain teams when they’ve been in that position, but for us, it’s irrelevant.”
Buttler, once a young player who doubted the value of experience, now sees the past as valuable reference points for his team. He rejects ‘defending’ as motivation, stating it’s irrelevant for his team. This squad has savored success over the past five years, winning both ODI and T20 World Cups and reaching a T20 semi-final. Their appetite for victory remains insatiable.
Buttler emphasizes, “The whole journey is the stuff that lights the fire more than anything else because you get to the end and think: ‘Now what?’ Returning to the start is the feeling you’re after and chasing something more.”
Despite talk of a 2019 reunion, it appears less relevant given that Thursday’s game might be played without two key figures from that tournament. Kane Williamson, the player of the match, is recovering from a severe knee injury, while Ben Stokes, the final player, has a minor hip injury. Stokes’ involvement in the team’s training session before the World Cup opener was limited. With nine group matches ahead, risking his fitness for the first match seems like it could be better.
Jos Buttler offered insights into Stokes’ condition, saying, “He’s got a slight niggle with his hip. It’s not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Near the end, maybe you take more risk with people’s injuries, but it will be a long tournament.”
England has several options to consider in the absence of Stokes, but the most apparent choice would be Harry Brook, the only reserve batter in the squad. Buttler expressed confidence in Brook’s abilities, stating, “We know what a fantastic player he is. He’s not played loads of ODI cricket, but he’s got all the shots, he can play big innings, so it’s a format that should suit him well.”
New Zealand, too, is keen to shake off the burden of the 2019 final. Tom Latham, who will stand in for Williamson as captain, declared, “We’ve parked that.” He also emphasized that last month’s four-game ODI series in England had no bearing on the current occasion. According to Latham, “It’s about turning up on that specific day and trying to play your best brand of cricket. We know if we do that and play to the best of our ability, we can beat anyone in the world.”
Jos Buttler’s team is determined to shed the weight of the past and focus on the future, fueled by an unquenchable hunger for success. Despite the absence of key players, they remain confident in their abilities. New Zealand, too, is ready to embrace a fresh start and believes in their potential to triumph on any given day. The stage is set for an exciting tournament, where past glories are left behind, and pursuing new achievements takes center stage.
