Jos Buttler breaks silence on captain Eoin Morgan’s ‘lean patch’ in international cricket

England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler has shared his thoughts on captain Eoin Morgan‘s poor form with the bat. The white-ball captain is in the middle of a nightmarish run as he has registered a string of low scores in the recent past.

Morgan made two ducks in the recently-concluded ODI series against the Netherlands and sat out of the third game with a groin injury, raising more questions over both his form and fitness. The left-handed batter has made only one half-century across 48 white-ball innings – both domestic and international – in the last 18 months.

Notably, Buttler captained England in the third ODI against the Netherlands, helping his side record a thumping eight-wicket win on Wednesday. After the match, Buttler defended Morgan, stating that nobody in the English side had questioned his position and that his ability with the bat doesn’t just go away overnight.

“There’s certainly no questioning of his position from within the camp. I can’t put into words what he’s achieved,” said Buttler, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“Everyone always talks about his captaincy, but you forget what a brilliant batsman he’s been for England in over 200 ODIs, that doesn’t just go away overnight. Everyone in the team is backing him,” he added.

Notably, Buttler echoed what England’s Test captain Ben Stokes had earlier said about Morgan. Stokes had also backed the Dublin-born cricketer while speaking at Headingley ahead of his side’s third Test against New Zealand.

“Well, he’s only had two low scores, so I wouldn’t say he’s going through a hard time at the moment. I think the press are the only ones giving him a hard time, and I think the players have shown it’s not an issue with them. People are allowed to not score many runs – and more than that, he’s our captain. He’s a phenomenal leader and always will be, so I’ve got no issues with anything going on with him at the moment,” Stokes had said.