Buttler proud to succeed Morgan as England white-ball captain

Jos Buttler said he had been given the “greatest honour” after being named as England’s new white-ball captain in succession to “inspirational” World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan.

Buttler’s appointment was confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday, just two days after Morgan announced his retirement from international cricket.

Buttler has been a member of England’s white-ball teams for over a decade, serving as Morgan’s vice-captain since 2015.

The dynamic 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has already led England 14 times across both one-day international and Twenty20 formats, including their most recent ODI against the Netherlands when Morgan was ruled out with a groin injury.

World Cup winner Buttler is set to take charge of 12 games in July, with T20 and ODI series against India and South Africa.

His first major global event as skipper will be the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, with England defending their 50-over crown in India next year.

Buttler first words on being named as skipper were to thank Morgan for his “outstanding leadership” in overseeing England’s white-ball revival following their embarrassing first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup.

Buttler, who said he had learnt a lot from Morgan, added in an ECB statement: “It is a great honour to take over from Eoin and the place he has left English white-ball cricket in is exciting, and I’m inspired for the challenges ahead.

“It is the greatest honour to captain your country. I can’t wait to take this team forward.”

Buttler was nominated as captain by director of men’s cricket Rob Key in what was the former England batsman’s fourth major appointment.

Key installed Ben Stokes as Test captain and split the coaching roles.

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum is now in charge of the red-ball side with Matthew Mott, previously the coach of Australia’s all-conquering women’s team, overseeing the limited-overs sides.

Stokes, who has been a multi-format all-rounder for much of his England career, is taking time away from the white-ball game to concentrate on his Test duties but expects to serve under Buttler in the not too distant future.

“He was the obvious choice to take over from Morgs and I am really looking forward to playing a few games under him,” said Stokes, speaking on the eve of the Covid-delayed Test series finale against India at Edgbaston.

Indian Premier League star Buttler is a formidable run-scorer in limited overs cricket, where his fierce hitting has helped him compile 4,120 runs from 151 ODIs, including 10 hundreds.

But he has had much less success in the five-day Test format, with only two hundreds from 57 matches, and is not a member of England’s squad at Edgbaston.

Buttler last played a Test against Australia at Sydney in January during England’s woeful Ashes series loss.