England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler said cricket is relatively behind other sports in conveying messages to on-field players, after head coach Brendon McCullum communicating with Harry Brook through a walkie-talkie became a major talking point during their T20 World Cup 2026 opener against Nepal on Sunday (February 8).
The Three Lions survived a spirited Nepal fightback to seal a tense four-run win in a last-over thriller at the Wankhede Stadium. The Brook-led side will next face the West Indies in a heavyweight Group C clash at the same venue in Mumbai on Wednesday (February 11).
On the eve of the game, Buttler addressed a press conference, where he was asked if the motive behind using walkie-talkie was way for McCullum to have a more hands-on approach.
In reply, Buttler told reporters: “I think so, there's (been) walkie-talkies for a while to be fair. But then the communication from top to bottom has always been really good in the group. Baz can sit with his feet up and his sunglasses on and look very relaxed, but he's as sharp a coach as I've ever worked with. He doesn't miss a beat."
“I think also for cricket in general, actually, coaches are getting more involved in real-time in cricket… I've played in the IPL, at Gujarat (Titans), Ashish Nehra is very active on the boundary rope.
"But it seems like cricket is a kind of sport where we are still a bit behind, maybe in that area where you look at other sports, the managers and coaches, and you think of rugby, running messages. So, maybe that will come more and more into cricket,” he added.
The 2022 T20 World Cup-winning captain said a close finish against Nepal was another indication of the fact that T20 matches can get tighter than expected.
"In the T20 World Cups, (or) T20 cricket, generally the game is so close, one or two players can win games for their side on the day. Ultimately, we found a way to win, which is the most important thing,” Buttler stated.
“Obviously, the consequences are different. So (we are) Learning how to manage those emotions. The cricket is the same, but the consequences and the pressures of that are then different. If you can hold your nerve and manage to still execute skills, knowing that the consequences are different, that's probably good learning,” he remarked.
Buttler came to the defence of England bowlers Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer who leaked more than 80 runs collectively while managing only one wicket between them against Nepal.
“We're all accepting of how T20 cricket works. They were chasing 180 (185). (We) know, the batters are going to come after you and be aggressive. Credit to the Nepal guys, they played really, really well. They ran between the wickets well, found the boundaries when they needed to,” Buttler said.
“(The) experienced players, Jofra and Adil in that case, have seen it all before, and they're not immune to people playing well against them. That's allowed,” he said.
“We try our best and want to perform really well, but every other country and every other player that we play against is wanting to do the same,” Buttler added.
Commenting on the Wankhede pitch, Buttler said it was a bit “tacky” in terms of batting but did not expect conditions to change drastically.
“Not necessarily surprised. (You) can have a good bounce and the red soil can get a bit of spin. It was a little bit tacky, the wicket. Playing at 3 o'clock (in the afternoon) was interesting."
“… working out (if) we could improve, or would it get worse, and they don't be used to make it, obviously, but generally here coming into the evening games, batting second can be an advantage, obviously, playing a night game against the West Indies, so their conditions probably won't change as much,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
