Saturday 6 December 2014 15:42, UK
Jos Buttler says he plans to spend the next few months, while touring foreign climes with England, learning new skills to enhance his batting prowess in limited-overs matches.
Buttler’s 55 off 37 deliveries in Hambantota on Wednesday helped England beat Sri Lanka in the third ODI and so reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the seven-match series.
And with England focusing their attentions on next year’s World Cup down under, they will follow the current series in Sri Lanka by travelling to Australia for a tri-nations series involving the hosts and India.
Their World Cup campaign opens on February 14 in Melbourne and Buttler hopes his explosive batting will benefit from the experiences he will gain by playing cricket in different conditions around the globe.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s fourth ODI at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Buttler said: "I always want to keep looking to develop and get better.
"In this four-month period, I can really focus on skills. In parts of the world like this, you get lots of net bowlers and lots of facilities – so what a great place to try things.
"If it is the scoop shot, I want to be hitting that 10 times out of 10 – or reverse sweep, consistently.
"If someone misses their yorker I want to hit it for six. The best players in the world do that – people like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni.
In this four-month period, I can really focus on skills.
"The margin for error against him is so minimal, because if you miss he punishes you. That's the level everyone aspires to get to.”
And the 24-year-old is also keen to improve on his technique behind the sticks, adding: "I've got loads of areas I want to do better on my wicket-keeping. It's down to me to keep working on that really hard.
"In one-day cricket, you don't touch the ball too many times. It might just be a chance.
"A four-month period of one-day cricket is really good for my wicket-keeping, so I'm always aware that the time I'm going to get the ball is generally going to be a chance."
England go into this weekend’s match with skipper Alastair Cook serving a one-match ban for his team's slow over rate, which means Eoin Morgan will deputise.
With Cook absent, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales may well open together for the first time in this format while James Taylor could collect his first ODI cap for 15 months.
Watch Sunday’s 4th ODI between Sri Lanka and England on Sky Sports 2 HD, starting at 4am.
