Buttler wants ‘alliance’ with coach McCullum

KOLKATA: England captain Jos Buttler said Tuesday he wants to build an “alliance” with new white-ball coach Brendon McCullum, as they named their side for the first of five T20s in India.

Ben Duckett will open alongside Phil Salt, who will also keep wicket for the match at Kolkata´s Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Harry Brook was named Buttler´s deputy. England´s first white-ball assignment under McCullum, who was previously in charge only of England´s Test side, also includes three ODI matches. The series will be followed by the eight-team ODI Champions Trophy starting February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

Buttler said he is looking “to build that coach-captain alliance” after McCullum forged a successful partnership with Test skipper Ben Stokes. “It´s not a new set-up as Baz (McCullum) has been around for a while,” Buttler told reporters on the eve of the T20 opener. “There´s a lot of players in this squad that have been with him in the Test set-up for a number of years already,” he added.