Cricket
“He’s one of the great players of the game in all the formats,” says England white-ball captain Jos Buttler ahead of Joe Root’s return to the ODI side for the first time in 15 months; Three-match ODI series against India starts in Nagpur at 8am on Thursday
Wednesday 5 February 2025 12:28, UK
Joe Root will bat at number three on his return to the England ODI side with captain Jos Buttler expecting the cricketing “great” to play a “crucial” role for the side in the three-day series against India.
Root will play in his first 50-overs international match since the 2023 Cricket World Cup when the concluding leg of England’s white-ball tour of India starts on Thursday with the first ODI in Nagpur.
After England suffered a thumping 4-1 defeat to the hosts in the preceding T20 series, Buttler is anticipating the arrival of the former Test captain for the three ODI matches to prove invaluable for the side as they ramp up preparations for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan later this month.
Buttler confirmed Root will hold the same role in the batting order he performed with distinction up to England’s triumph in the 2019 World Cup.
“He’ll bat number three,” confirmed Buttler, who himself will move to five, in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“He’s one of the great players of the game in all the formats. He’s obviously been a vital part of ODI cricket for England for a long time and I’m excited to see him in this phase of his career.
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“Look what he’s done with the Test stuff where he’s not had the captaincy, he’s back with that cheeky smile on his face and really enjoying his cricket.
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“I expect him to do exactly the same in this environment. He’s obviously got loads of experience in ODI cricket which will be great for some of the guys who haven’t played as much in our group.
“He’s been a vital player for England in all formats and we feel like he’s got a crucial role for us to play in these games.”
Root has flitted in and out of the ODI team since 2019 because of his duties with the Test side, where he has been in outstanding form since relinquishing the captaincy two-and-a-half years ago.
Thursday is set to be his 172nd ODI appearance for England.
With Root’s position in the batting order already confirmed earlier on Wednesday, the release of England’s full starting XI later in the day for Thursday’s match contained no particular surprises.
Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood has been preferred to Mark Wood, while Jacob Bethell comes in for the injured Jamie Smith.
England team to face India in first ODI: 1. Ben Duckett, 2. Phil Salt, 3. Joe Root, 4. Harry Brook, 5. Jos Buttler (c), 6. Liam Livingstone, 7. Jacob Bethell, 8. Brydon Carse, 9. Jofra Archer, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Saqib Mahmood
England’s batting was unconvincing against India’s spinners in the four T20s, but Buttler made clear there will be no diverting from the script of trying to put pressure on the opposition and bowlers always looking to take wickets.
“[It will be a] continuation of committing to the style of cricket we want to play, really doubling down on that in the 50-over format,” said Buttler.
“Obviously, the Champions Trophy is just around the corner so it’s great to play against a top side, three ODIs before that tournament.
“We want to play in exactly the same way. We want to find ways to put pressure on the opposition with the bat. You’ve got to take wickets, it’s crucial. You see how if you let guys bat for a period of time they can go on to hurt you, so we will be desperate to try and find ways of taking wickets.
“It’s always about execution really. Whatever plan you come with you’ve got to try and execute it well and we believe that’s the best way for us to win games of cricket and get the best out of the players in our dressing room. So we’ll double down on that.
“I think we played well in phases in the T20s, never quite long enough to run with it and run away games and end up getting the results, but it’s really important that we stay on track and stay on course with the way we want to play and try and execute that to the best of our ability in these games.”
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And on the selection of the team for the first ODI, Buttler added: “The structure of the way we want to set the team up and the style of play we want to go with is quite clear and then [it’s about] fitting the guys into that.
“We’ve got some options, we’ve got different combinations that we can go with, so we will look at the wicket and make as best an informed decision as we can leading into this match.”
The Champions Trophy starts on February 19, live on Sky Sports, with England having been drawn in Group B against Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa. England open up their tournament against Australia in Lahore on February 22.
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