Jos Buttler says being dropped by England was 'a relief'
Tuesday 8 December 2015 12:08, UK
Jos Buttler says his confidence sank so low during England's Test series against Pakistan he was glad to be dropped.
Buttler lost his wicketkeeper-batsman role to Jonny Bairstow for the third Test in Sharjah after a dismal run of form that brought just 156 runs in 12 innings.
The 25-year-old was recalled for the one-day series, and he responded with England's fastest 50-over hundred to help secure a 2-1 win before captaining the side during the successful T20 series.
"You get to a place where you are thinking 'today I have to get runs or can you just drop me and get me out of this'," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"It was a relief to get dropped which is sad in a way because you never want to miss a game. But I was not performing and mentally I got to a stage where I was not concentrating and did not want to be there.
"I was not enjoying walking out there and feeling like I didn't know where the next run was coming from. I would also worry that I would miss a nick when keeping because I would be thinking about batting too much.
"Keeping wicket is the worst place to be when out of form. You can't hide at fine leg where you might touch the ball once every 10 overs. Behind the wicket you are involved every ball.
"You are never going to go to a coach and say 'look I think you need to drop me' because you have that pride thinking you can turn it around but it was definitely a relief to be taken out of that game and then suddenly the world changed.
I was not performing and mentally I got to a stage where I was not concentrating and did not want to be there
"When I was watching the Sharjah Test I wondered why I had been so worked up."
Buttler and Bairstow will compete for a place when the four-Test series against top-ranked South Africa begins on Boxing Day.
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