England’s wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has proved his worth in white-ball cricket, but he failed to maintain that in the Test matches. After having a not-so-good 2019, where he played 11 Tests and scored 502 runs at an average of 25.

“I feel like I’m not quite performing to the standards I need to,” Buttler said ahead of the New Year’s Test against South Africa on Wednesday. “I’m trying to improve that and affect games in positive ways for England.”

Jos Buttler had returned to the Test side in 2018 and impressed everyone with his century against India.

“Since I’ve come back into Test cricket I’ve tried to trust my defense for longer periods of time,” Buttler said. “I’ve been able to do that on occasions. But [playing my natural game] is certainly something I’m trying to work out.

“You can do a lot of work in the nets but I’m spending a lot of time thinking about the game when I’m in my room or trying to visualise things or work through them in my head. Moving forward I’ve got to play the situation, but I will try to be a bit more positive,” he shared.

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In the first Test, South Africa’s Quinton De Kock smashed a 95 and 37-ball 34 and Joss Buttler inspired from him.

“Quinton played a really good knock and put pressure back on the bowlers,” Buttler said. “He tried to take the initiative and, watching that from behind the stumps, it resonated with me.

“When you’re batting with the tail, you try to sum up situations and work out how best you can score. You work out your risk management: what is too much risk; what is trying to push the game on. Looking ahead to this Test, I want to look to be a bit busier and try to look a bit more on the positive side,” he concluded.