England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler and South African keeper-batter Quinton de Kock has opined on their tight schedule with back-to-back series as well. Buttler has expressed his frustration at the lack of training time given after the third and final One-Day International against South Africa. However, the last ODI of the summer was washed out due to rain with only 27.4 overs possible on Sunday (July 25) at Headingley, ending the series at 1-1 as well.

“I think those training days are really important for that team cohesion, the energy within the group, the fielding drills, the camaraderie around the guys without the pressure of a game,” Jos Buttler said. “And they’re really vital to high performance. When you miss that chance as well, there’s a frustration. It is how it is, and that’s sort of the way this month has panned out. If we find those situations again, we just have to, I think, just find a way… even if you can’t give 100%, can you give 90% of 90? That’s a bit of a learning.”

He continued, “It’s tough, a lot of the time around training is when you do your best work, away from the pressures of the game, having good conversations and having a feel for where the group is at. And not just always in game mode, preparing for guys on the day. To get the highest standard of cricket possible, you need to prepare properly. Hopefully, that’s something we can look at going forward. As a new captain, just having that time to bed in and do that work around your players and with your coaches. That’s been a frustration to be truthfully honest – it would be nice to have that time to do the work. But we don’t, so you just have to adapt and find the best way. It’s been a good challenge.”

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South Africa were doing well at 159/2 in 27.4 overs for a strong total with Quinton de Kock batting at 92* off 76 before rain halted play in the evening. Buttler has also said that he didn’t think England had the same intensity as they did in the second ODI as well.

“I thought we didn’t have quite the same intensity we had on Friday night. And I know it’s easy to say that when you get wickets and everyone’s up and about, but I thought we didn’t quite have the same intent and energy…maybe only for the first 10 overs of that 20 overs. I thought there was a clear difference when we do have it, so just to encourage us to always try and find that as a team. Take the result out of winning or losing, to make sure we’re always competing at our best and highest intensity. In theory, it sounds easy: it’s one-all and you’re playing a series decider. But there’s no getting past the schedule does make that tough,” Jos Buttler further added.

Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock opined on the fact that despite retiring from Test cricket, he still has a packed schedule. With age catching up, he said that he has to prioritize the things wanting from his career. Notably, De Kock retired from Test cricket in December last year after the first Test against India at the Centurion as well.

While speaking after the abandoned third ODI against England, de Kock said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo: “It hasn’t freed up my calendar – at least not this year. I’ve been roped in to play a couple of leagues but that’s my own consequence. I am happy to do it. It’s still a sacrifice but I’m slowly getting to an age where I need to think about where I want to be in my career. As long as I can do it at my own pace, then I am happy.”

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Quinton de Kock has further claimed that playing three formats will be challenging for the cricketers and also believes that they may need to make a decision at some point as well.

“It’s going to start being tough for players – three formats is a lot and it looks like more games are happening over the calendar. Players need to make decisions individually and if they feel they can do it, I am happy for them. But guys need to take decisions into their own hands. For me, I am happy where I am. When you’re still young, you need to play all three formats and get certain things done in your career. It starts getting harder as you start getting older and the body doesn’t cooperate like it used to,” Quinton de Kock stated.

England and South Africa will begin their three-match series on Wednesday in Bristol. The two teams will play three matches in five days as well.