Buttler feels like he has ‘nothing to lose’ Down Under

England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler has said that he feels like he has nothing to lose in the upcoming Ashes. The five-match Ashes will begin on December 8 at the Gabba. Australia recently named Pat Cummins and Steve Smith as their new Test captain and vice-captain. “I feel like I have nothing to lose, to be honest. It’s sort of been disjointed, that year just gone. Some good form and some bad form and in the year before as well. It’s the first time I’m experiencing an Ashes series in Australia so I’m fully determined to enjoy all the challenges that throws up. I’m excited to experience it, the good the bad, and I’m sure the highs and lows along the way,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Buttler as saying.

“As a player at the minute, I’m trying to bring a fearless approach and to truly try and embrace the opportunity. I know when I get to somewhere near my best that’s going to be pretty good,” he added. Buttler has some experience of playing in Australia but it is all in the white-ball formats. He averages 38.71 from 18 ODIs Down Under.

“Familiarity with some conditions is something I can dip into and hopefully not be surprised by. But I think the challenge always as a player is to adapt to any conditions that are in front of you and adapt quickly. The practice, when you can practice, is incredibly important for that and your first five, 10 balls are vital as a player to understanding the conditions and playing accordingly,” said Buttler. “But certainly I will try to dip into that experience and I’m in my early 30s now so played quite a bit of cricket and hopefully know what to expect,” he added.

Talking about the Covid-19 Omicron variant, Buttler said: “It’s a hypothetical situation at the minute. Until we get told that something’s changed there’s no decision to make and it just adds to the unknown. So it’s things I don’t really need to worry about at the moment. If something like that happens I have to get the information and we can work through it and see how that looks.”