Jos Buttler keeps his belief in Ben Stokes despite Ashes humiliation: ‘He has the passion to take them to number one’
Jos Buttler reflects on England's disappointing 4-1 Ashes defeat, stressing the need for honest evaluation.
Jos Buttler doesn’t need to be in the dressing room to feel the sting of an away Ashes. England’s 4-1 defeat in Australia landed with a familiar thud.
But Buttler’s reaction wasn’t a pile-on. It was a reminder that the post-mortem has to be honest and useful — because the next cycle starts before the bruises fade.
“A disappointing and frustrating campaign for the guys,” Jos Buttler told Sky Sports News.
“I think we all thought this was the time this team going to Australia would have a real, genuine chance of winning. They will be frustrated it hasn't turned out as they would have planned.”
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England’s series tilted early and never really recovered. Three defeats inside 11 days of cricket left every decision open to re-litigation — preparation, selection, even the optics around downtime. Buttler’s point was simple: when you lose, everything gets dragged into the light.
“Ultimately, it's about results. I think when you don't get the results that you crave, it's very easy to point fingers at certain things. Your preparation, your planning, a lot of stuff your hands will be tied. You don't actually have as much choice to prepare, it's not a blank canvas.”
Modern touring schedules rarely allow the old-school runway, but England still have to find ways to be ready faster — and avoid confusing “brave” with “careless” in conditions that punish loose moments.
More importantly, Buttler believes England must protect what is worth protecting, even as they change what needs changing. The fear after a heavy defeat is overcorrection: ripping up the identity in a hurry to win back the argument.
“But I think the guys at the top, and knowing Ben as I do, they will take a bit of time to evaluate what happened, what things they wish they did a bit differently, what things they need to improve on, and what things actually are real key pillars of the team, which they've done really well for a number of years that they need to really stick to and double down on even more.”
In that “key pillars” line is the real message: review properly, keep the spine, sharpen the edges.
“I think they'll just take a bit of time to review it. I know Ben pretty well - I played a lot of cricket with him growing up - and his determination and desire and passion to lead that team forward, improve and take them to be the number one Test team in the world, which is where he will want to take them, will be stronger than ever after this tour.”
