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England star Jos Buttler worried about health, safety, being away from family and lack of runs when Test cricket returns

, England star Jos Buttler worried about health, safety, being away from family and lack of runs when Test cricket returns

JOS BUTTLER admits to plenty of concerns as he prepares to strap on his pads and get ready for England matches behind closed doors.

Buttler’s worries include health, safety, being away from his family for an extended period and whether he will score any runs.

, England star Jos Buttler worried about health, safety, being away from family and lack of runs when Test cricket returns

Jos Buttler is getting ready to go back in the nets

He said: “It’s a multitude of things, with cricket probably being one of the smaller ones. No-one has ever been in this situation before.

“Speaking for myself, anytime there’s uncertainty, there’s apprehension and I think it’ll take me a few days to work out those feelings and process how I can control them.

“I think it’s important for all the players to have coping strategies for the different scenarios we’re going to come up against.

“So, when I heard training for England players could start again soon, I had some apprehension and anxiety. There’s some performance anxiety you haven’t felt for a while – for seven weeks, you’ve had freedom from that. What will my cricket look like? But there are bigger things than that.”

England’s players – bowlers first and then batsmen – are due shortly to begin training outdoors, probably with the help of a coach, after weeks of little more than running, cycling, stretching and weights.

The groups are planned to get bigger until an England squad of around 25 assembles in Southampton in late June for the scheduled First Test against West Indies on July 8.

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Reports from the Caribbean suggest the Windies have already started choosing a squad of around 25, big enough to allow a warm-up match between themselves.

Barring a second Covid-19 spike, it does now look as though England will be able to complete the majority of their 18 scheduled games this summer.

Buttler added: “I’m more confident there’ll be cricket this summer than I was a few weeks ago although we’re still in an evolving situation.

“Using your imagination, you can think how the games might look and feel. It’s going to be completely different, isn’t it? Not having a crowd, not interacting with the opposition, the media, the TV and maybe even your own team-mates to an extent.

“There are a lot of scenarios to run through in your head to try to prepare yourself for what will happen. At the moment, it’s about trying to work out some coping mechanisms.

“And trying to hit the ball again would be a good start! I haven’t picked up a bat for a long time and it’s been nice not to think about cricket at all.

“I’ll just go back to the stuff that has served me well over my career and build up my practice very slowly. The initial phase will be about finding rhythm again and trying to get muscle memory back.”

Buttler insists no England player will be forced to play – in the same way as Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales were allowed to miss the trip to Bangladesh in 2016 on security grounds.

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He explained: “It’s completely natural to have some apprehension and anxiety and ask lots of questions. Like going to Bangladesh, you talk it over with your family, talk to players, and come to a decision that’s right for you.

“I’m sure no player would be under pressure to do something they didn’t want to do. It’s been made clear that any player feeling uncomfortable can speak to Ashley Giles (England team supremo) or the doctors.

“One of the great shames of this situation is that we had such a fantastic summer of cricket last year and we were hoping to see cricket ride the back of that wave.

“Looking back at iconic images of, say, Stokesy interacting with the crowd after his catch in the first World Cup game. Those moments were quite incredible. A live crowd is so important to all sports. It will be very different.”

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