4 November - Ahmedabad - England Captain Jos Buttler post-match press conference
[Reporter:]
Inaudible
[Jos Butler:]
Pride and guys wanting to get back to playing better cricket which we threatened today. We threatened but still not good enough.
[Reporter:]
You talked about and sort of Ben about seeing this game as a chance. I know you're mathematically out now, but you'd accepted that you were already and it was about regaining pride. Do you feel like you competed a bit harder? You got anywhere close to that?
[Jos Butler:]
Yeah, we did. Absolutely. We're still with areas to improve. I thought the bowling performance, taking early wickets, those two guys try and set the tone for Australia being very aggressive. So, to take those two wickets was crucial. We were in a really good spot. It was a frustrating partnership from Zampa and Stark. If we could have wrapped it up a bit quicker there. But yeah, look, we only lost by 30 and there's plenty of areas you can find those runs.
[Reporter:]
As you say the bowlers have stepped up a little bit in the last couple of games, are you at a loss to explain how such an experienced batting lineup as you've got and you've stuck with this same team sort of through a couple of tricky results and the tricky collapses are you at a loss to explain how that is not coming right and as a second part to that? How close have you come to plugging Harry Brook into that and let him go?
[Jos Butler:]
Yeah, absolutely and the guys who we were selecting have been top players for a long time and sort of, time kind of says that at some point they'll get back to you know being the best and you know so Johnny's dismissal today they're just the kind of things that just seem to keep happening and you don’t get that break. But yes, for sure I think my own form has been something that's probably the most frustrating thing. Obviously, I've had a pivotal position in the batting lineup, so to play as poorly as I have done has had a big effect on the team.
[Reporter:]
I guess after the result tonight, the game on Wednesday against the Dutch has a bit of added significance in terms of Champions Trophy qualification. How do you lift the guys for that one?
[Jos Butler:]
Yeah, absolutely by exactly that. You know, the Champions Trophy is a tournament we want to be involved in and if we're going to be involved in it, we need to win some games of cricket.
[Reporter:]
Jos looking at Malan's dismissal today, it proved to be quite against the run of play as well. He looked quite settled, the team looked quite comfortable at that stage. The way he got out and then immediately after that the way you got out did his dismissal sort of affect the way you were batting you think?
[Jos Butler:]
No not at all. The run rate is getting to a point where you have to try and score some runs and he obviously took an option on. I never criticise guys for being positive and trying to score runs.
Personally, I wanted to try and put some pressure back on the opposition. It was a mis-execution, the ball was in the right area to hit. And I didn't manage to play the shot correctly. So his dismissal had no effect on mine.
[Reporter:]
You've always kind of talked about the faith and the belief that you have in yourself and the players and your methods. When it has been such a long-running, repeated defeat, does that get shaken at all? Have you had that kind of belief shaken in yourself or your team?
[Jos Butler:]
I wouldn't say the belief shaken, more just the frustration grows and adds. Like I said, these are top quality players. I speak about myself more. I think the belief in my game is as high as it's ever been really, which means why there's so much frustration. Coming into the tournament I felt in fantastic form, as good a form as I've been in. So, to be sat here having had the tournament I've had is incredibly frustrating, but it doesn't shake your belief. If I stop believing in myself, I've got to make sure I'm the last one that does that. You guys will give up on me a lot earlier than I'll give up on myself.
[Reporter:]
Just on your batting, has it felt as though the captaincy has taken any kind of toll or is it something that's completely irrelevant to that and just a rhythm thing? Do you have any sort of, I suppose, diagnosis as to what's happened?
[Jos Butler:]
No I wouldn't say the captaincy. It's something I've enjoyed that responsibility in T20 cricket and ODI cricket before this tournament. I felt like it's brought out a lot of really good things in my batting. So, it's been frustrating I think I can't quite put a finger on why I'm not playing to the level I expected myself I've played a lot of cricket in India and played a lot of IPL cricket here so it's not as if I don't know the conditions or the grounds yes you know and as I say as a captain you want to lead from the front. So, of all the things that have happened on this trip, I'd say my own form has been my biggest frustration, because you want to lead from the front as a captain.
[Reporter:]
With that being a must-win game against the Netherlands you obviously want to put your best team out there with the best chance of winning at this point just with so many players not being able to be in form, does that best batting line-up for that game look increasingly like, including Harry Brook?
[Jos Butler:]
We can digest this game and we'll come up with what we think is the best team to win the next game.
[Reporter:]
How are you personally? How are you dealing with what I imagine must be a pretty tough time?
[Jos Butler:]
I'm having a great time, thanks. Yeah, frustrated, yeah, disappointed. Yeah, all of the above.