England captain Jos Buttler insists England aren't lazy amid criticism that they haven't trained enough during their disappointing tour of India
Buttler hits out in defence of 'lazy' England
Jos Buttler is adamant England are not being "lazy" amid criticism about how often his side have trained in India.
As England slid to a 142-run thumping and a seventh loss in eight games while being swept 3-0 in their ODI series in Ahmedabad, former India player and coach Ravi Shastri claimed – falsely – the tourists had "just one net session this entire trip, if not any".
Shastri's underlying point was "you're not going to improve" without putting in "the hard yards" as England again floundered with the bat, collapsing to 214 all out in response to India's mammoth 356.
Ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen then queried why Tom Banton, who flew from the UK to India on Monday as an injury replacement for Jacob Bethell, was "on the golf course" on Tuesday instead of practising.
India, though, have only had one more training session on the trip than England, with both teams having to factor in a punishing travel schedule that has seen them play at eight different venues in 22 days.
While England have had several days off, they have undertaken six internal flights, including three of at least 800 miles, prompting Buttler to launch a defence of his and head coach Brendon McCullum's methods.
"We obviously try to create a really good environment but don't mistake that for a lazy environment or a lack of effort," Buttler said. "The guys are desperate to perform, do well and improve.
"I think we've had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days, there have been a couple of times we've not trained but we've certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour."
The criticism follows a similar line of questioning posed to the England women's side on their Ashes tour of Australia last month.
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The visitors had a nightmarish time in the field throughout the multi-format series that they ultimately lost by an unprecedented 16-0 margin, bringing back to the fore former England international Alex Hartley's comments on the side's lack of fitness.
Coach Jon Lewis' attempt to attribute Australia's superiority to the country's culture and outdoor lifestyle in a media interaction was only met with further ridicule.
"I walked from Bondi to Coogee the other Sunday morning, and pretty much every Australian in the eastern suburbs was in the water. There's about a million kids down there, and they were doing Surf Life Saving, or playing touch rugby. For me, that's a cultural difference. I definitely think Australia have an advantage in terms of athleticism," Lewis had said trying to explain why the hosts were more "agile, faster, and powerful."
His comments had attracted sharp criticism from former players and cricketing media – both English and Australian – and were seen as an unacceptable excuse for a group of professional athletes.
England's defeat to India was compounded by Ben Duckett suffering a groin injury when fielding and, while he batted in his usual position as opener, the sight of him limping badly was a major cause for concern.
Duckett is set for a scan but with England starting their Champions Trophy campaign against Australia on February 22 in Lahore, the omens do not look good despite Buttler keeping his fingers crossed.
"He's obviously been playing really well and hopefully it's not too bad," Buttler said. "We'll find out more over the next couple of days. There's a little bit of time, hopefully he'll be OK."
England were already patched up as pace trio Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton were out with niggles, while Jamie Smith has been unavailable since the T20 series owing to a calf injury.
Banton therefore made his first international appearance since January 2022, having been officially confirmed as Bethell's injury replacement in England's 15-strong squad for the Champions Trophy.