‘He’s doing everything he can’: England back Buttler to end miserable form

England have not committed to fielding their strongest side in Friday’s non-win T20 World Cup match against New Zealand, but Jos Buttler will be given a chance to turn around his miserable form, with the team’s coaching staff convinced a return to familiar lofty standards is imminent.

After six matches at the tournament, Buttler’s top score is 26, against Nepal in England’s opener, and in the last four matches he has contributed three, three, seven and two. It is his worst run in international T20s since following 13 in his very first innings with five consecutive single-figure scores between February and September 2012.

“I’ve played against Jos a lot, he’s one of the most dangerous white-ball hitters to play the game,” says England bowling coach Tim Southee. “When you’re that good and you’re a little bit bothered, I think you feel a little more pressure. But he hits just as well as he [ever] has in the nets. I’m sure he’s just a few good strokes away from another great innings. He goes about his business and does everything he can to perform.”

England have not yet named their squad for Friday’s match, with Southee only saying they would “look at the conditions and choose which team they think is best suited to play on that surface against New Zealand”, but he confirmed Buttler would be selected. “He’s such a dangerous player,” Southee said. “Every time you see his name on the team sheet, it’s a concern for opposition bowlers.”

On Thursday, England bowler Mark Wood told Buttler to believe in himself. Called to report on Buttler on the former white-ball captain’s For the Love of Cricket podcast, Wood said: “I’m sure he’s been through this kind of thing before, and he can just draw on those experiences. I’m sure it will work out fine. As a fan, everyone wants everyone to get a hundred every time, but cricket doesn’t work like that. He may have had a few low scores, but he’s so good, his class will come through in the end. If I had any advice for Jos, it would be to just to continue to believe in yourself as much as we all believe in you.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said they too were prepared for a Buttler revival. “I don’t think you’ll ever doubt the quality of Jos Buttler,” he said. “We know that all hitters probably find a place where there is a lull somewhere in their career, and sometimes all it takes is one hit to change that. No one will ever doubt his quality, and neither should we.”

Buttler is the only member of England’s top seven not to have scored over 40 at least once at the World Cup, but with several batsmen looking for top form there should be no shortage of motivation even if a place in the last four has already been secured. They may no longer need points, but ^­England continues to strive strongly for perfection, or something vaguely reminiscent of it.

Meanwhile, New Zealand need a win to secure their own place in the last four and both teams know that whoever prevails will top their group and almost certainly avoid South Africa, who have established themselves as the form of the tournament after victory over India was followed by a crushing victory against the West Indies on Thursday.

A source of encouragement for England’s batsmen is New Zealand’s lack of lead in the tournament. The Kiwis have taken just 27 wicketsjust over half of England’s 51, who have played one more match. As a result, batters have a much higher average when playing against New Zealand than the other leading teams in the World Cup: every other side in the Super 8s are also among the eight against whom batters in the World Cup have the lowest averages, while New Zealand is. 15th in this ranking. The average batter has scored 18.11 against England, 28.62 against the Black Caps – and with almost identical strike rates.

“In some of those matches where we didn’t take the full set of 10 wickets, we still won the match,” Walter said. “So we have still managed to restrict them. In T20 cricket, restriction is sometimes as valuable as wickets. From our point of view, taking wickets is just the end process of executing a skill. For us it is reacting to the conditions, understanding what we have to do as a bowling unit and then doing it together. And whether that is a team seven down, all out or two down, if we win the game, it is irrelevant.”