T20 World Cup: England batsman Jos Buttler will not bat himself to rectify poor form

Buttler’s last major contribution for England was 83 off 30 balls against South Africa in September, but given his illustrious career, his place in England’s starting XI remains secure.

He scored 97 not out for Durban Super Giants in SA20 in January but made 12, 20, 15, 22, three and one in his other innings there.

“I felt like I was playing really well in SA20 without scoring,” Buttler said. “The one thing I always pride myself on in T20 is that if you get in, go and make a good contribution.”

Buttler and England trained on Thursday for the first time since their victory over Italy on Monday, after traveling to Sri Lanka.

Buttler practiced long and regularly at the net and then faced throws from team coach Carl Hopkinson with a wet tennis ball on a wet concrete strip – in an apparent attempt to sharpen his reflexes.

His teammate Jacob Bethel dismissed any doubts about the level of the opener.

“He’s fine,” Bethel said. “The choices he made have not paid off, but no one in this side is worried about Joss in terms of performance.

“He will come in good form when we need him in the big stages of this tournament.”

Bethel trained with a bandage on the ring finger of his left hand. He was injured during the win over the West Indies and this meant he was unable to bowl.

The injury will be assessed again before England play hosts Sri Lanka in their first match of the Super 8 stage on Sunday in Pallekele.

They progressed through the group stage in unconvincing fashion with thrilling victories over Italy, Scotland and Nepal, as well as defeat to the West Indies, but before the World Cup they beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20 series, with all three matches played in Pallekele.

“Winning a good Sri Lankan team at home 3-0 was a huge confidence boost for us,” Bethell said.

“You can feel it within the group, the boys are confident coming back here.

“We know the conditions, we know how two teams are going to play. We’re definitely very confident about the Super 8 Championship.”