“I got to a stage where I was not concentrating and did not want to be there”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has revealed that “it was a relief to get dropped” for the third Test against Pakistan in Sharjah last month.

Buttler admitted that his confidence took a plunge after he only scored 34 runs at an average of 8.50 in the first two Tests in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

However, the 25-year-old regained his touch during the ODI series as he smashed England’s fastest-ever ODI hundred in the fourth and final ODI in Dubai.

“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’,” Buttler 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.

“When I was watching the Sharjah Test I wondered why I had been so worked up.”

Buttler’s next assignment will be a tour of South Africa, which will see the first Test be played on Boxing Day in Durban.