It has been a while since I played well, admits Buttler

Following his side's four-wicket loss to West Indies in the first ODI, England skipper Jos Buttler admitted that it has been a while since he has played well as a batter, but needs to work hard and trust that his form will be back.

West Indies created history at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday as they registered a thrilling four-wicket victory over England in the first ODI of their three-game series, with skipper Shai Hope emerging as a hero with his 16th ODI century.

"You always want to play well and it's been a little while since I have played well," Buttler said in the post-match interview as quoted by Sky Sports.

"I just need to work hard and trust that it will come back," he added.

In the last 10 innings in ODIs, Buttler has managed just 141 runs at an average of 14.10, with best score of 43. In the recently concluded Cricket World Cup, Buttler scored just 138 runs in nine innings at an average of 15.33, with the best score of 43.

His disappointing run with the bat contributed to England's miserable World Cup campaign which saw them win just three out of nine matches. Buttler lauded West Indies skipper Shai Hope and his team for their batting effort and was happy with the efforts of his own team as a batting unit as well.

"Fantastic game of cricket. A lot of credit goes to Shai Hope. We asked a lot of questions of them but they played really well towards the end. Thought it was a fantastic batting effort (from England), really loved the intent that the guys came out with. The wicket was a bit tricky in the middle, they bowled well and slowed it up but it was a great effort.

“A brilliant game of cricket, credit to Shai Hope and Shepherd, it was fantastic hitting and we will learn a lot from that. We did some things well, lot to take out of it, we're looking forward to the next," said the skipper.