England skipper Buttler savours chance to realise childhood dream

MELBOURNE: Jos Buttler used to fantasise about captaining England to cricketing glory when he played with his siblings in their garden as a child. Now the dream is on the cusp of coming true.

The dynamic wicketkeeper-batter will lead England in the Twenty20 World Cup final on Sunday against Pakistan in Melbourne in his first major tournament since succeeding Eoin Morgan as white-ball skipper.

"I´ve certainly had a few dreams about that kind of thing," said the 32-year-old on Saturday.

"Of course I think it really links back to what you were like as a kid, the kind of things you would be doing in the garden with your brother and sister, pretending to lift a trophy.

"And now to be able to have the opportunity, to have a chance, to live that kind of thing out is incredibly special."

As he prepares for his biggest day as a captain, Buttler admitted those childhood memories had come flooding back.

"I think it´s fine to sort of think about those things and what it might feel like or what it would mean," he said of potentially being a World Cup-winning captain.

"They´re certainly feelings I don´t feel like I need to try and block out or push away.

"You almost accept those kind of things as like accepting the noise that comes with a World Cup final, accepting that it feels a little bit different.

"But once you´ve accepted those things, it´s about focusing on the things that you know will serve us well as a group and as a team, as an individual what you need to do to prepare to play your best game of cricket tomorrow."

Buttler´s appointment as skipper in July came just days after Morgan announced his retirement from international cricket.

Morgan oversaw England´s white-ball revival following their embarrassing first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup.

Buttler, who was Morgan´s vice-captain, says he feels like he is leading another new era after Morgan´s retirement.

"Hopefully I´ve got more time ahead myself as a captain and with (coach) Matthew Mott we can hopefully shape the next era of English white-ball cricket," he said.

"Of course we´re still reaping the rewards of Eoin Morgan´s tenureship and the changes that have happened in the white-ball game in England, and that´s clear to see in the strength and depth of the talent we now have in the white-ball game in England.

"We´re very much right in the back of that wave, of course, but there´s a bit of a new direction as well."

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