The Albany Gazette - Buttler eager to remain England captain despite World Cup woe

This has been a miserable tournament for both Buttler and his side, with England's title defence having yielded just two wins from eight games ahead of their group-stage finale against Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday.

England will at least go into that match with their hopes of qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan via a top-eight finish at the World Cup still alive following Wednesday's 160-run rout of the Netherlands.

That win ended a sequence of five straight defeats but Buttler was out for just five, taking the gifted white-ball batsman's tally for the tournament to a mere 111 runs in eight innings at an average of under 14.

Buttler is set to meet with England cricket director Rob Key prior to this weekend's clash with Pakistan, who still have hope of a semi-final place that has long since evaporated for England.

But amid a debate about whether England need to refresh their limited-overs leadership, the 33-year-old Buttler said he hoped to captain what is expected to be a much-changed squad on a tour of the West Indies next month.

"I'd like to," he said. "I know Rob Key arrives into India today. We can have some good conversations with him and the coach and make a plan for that tour."

Reflecting on Wednesday's thrashing of the Netherlands, he added: "It's been a frustrating time, not winning games of cricket or playing as well as we'd like, I'm delighted with this win."

- 'Exceptional Stokes' -

England were indebted, once again, to Ben Stokes after his defiant 108 took them to a total of 339-9 that was more than enough against the Netherlands.

But Test captain Stokes won't be heading to the Caribbean, with the star all-rounder set to undergo knee surgery after the World Cup.

There were calls for Stokes to head home for an operation immediately the moment England no longer had any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Stokes, who revived England's innings on Wednesday from the depths of 192-6, said: "I don't leave anyone hanging".

Buttler was adamant there was never any question of an early departure.

"No, we haven't had any conversations like that. It's not Ben's style at all," he said.

"He wants to put in performances like you saw here. Anytime you need someone to stand up when the team's under pressure, he's had a history of always doing that for whoever he's playing for.

"We're very lucky to have him in the team and I thought his innings today was exceptional."

Meanwhile, Buttler was in no doubt about the importance of the Pakistan match.

"It's a huge game for us, vital," he said. "We haven't performed the way we wanted to this whole trip, and we'd like to leave India putting in a proper performance."

(D.Sanchez--TAG)