Harmison backs Buttler to lead England despite World Cup failure

Steve Harmison believes Jos Buttler is still the right man to lead England's white-ball sides despite their shocking Cricket World Cup campaign.

The defending champions were officially eliminated from the tournament last Saturday after losing to Australia, their sixth defeat in seven matches.

Captain Buttler, 33, has endured a torrid time with the bat in India too, scoring just 106 runs at a lowly average of 15.14.

But Harmison believes he and head coach Matthew Mott deserve the chance to kick-start a rebuild when England tour the West Indies next month.

Speaking to LiveScore on behalf of Gem.Bet, the former fast bowler said: "I've got no doubt that Jos is a good captain.

"We saw that at the T20 World Cup last year. I think he's had a poor tournament but he's not the only one. 

"I think him and Mott deserve to take this team to the Caribbean later this year and try to rebuild the group.

"The only way I would question Jos' captaincy if he felt it was a burden or affecting his performance but I don't see that happening.

"Buttler is the right man to captain England moving forward."

Jos at the top

Harmison believes moving Buttler to the top of the order could help England regain some confidence in their final two World Cup matches against the Netherlands and Pakistan.

He added: "I'd personally like to see Jos open the batting in the last two games.

"The world is on his shoulders going in at No5, so let him have some fun at the top of the order.

"Then if England are suddenly 70-1 in the first powerplay, confidence is high again.

"Confidence can return very quickly in sport and England could perhaps change their fortunes with one solid performance — which they desperately need against the Netherlands.

"Because they will not want to go into the Pakistan game needing a win to qualify for the Champions Trophy."

Brook recall

Harmison also thinks a recall for Harry Brook is necessary ahead of Wednesday's match against the Dutch.

The 24-year-old batter started in England's first four matches but was dropped after the 229-run defeat to South Africa in Mumbai.

Harmison said: "It's now time for Brook to come back in. He's one of our best players and is somebody who will benefit massively from playing in these last two games.

"And at the end of the day, he's also someone at the start of their career, so I think he should have played in all the matches.

"With Liam Livingstone, the potential has always been there but unfortunately it's just been potential.

"The balance of Livingstone's all-round package is not really outweighing keeping Brook out of the team, especially when Joe Root is involved and can bowl three or four overs."

Brook is likely to be a central figure in England's rebuild following the conclusion of the World Cup, although Harmison stressed the process will differ to that imposed by ex-skipper Eoin Morgan in 2015.

He added: "It's going to be a rebuild, although it'll be nothing like 2015.

"It's a rebuild in a sense of celebrating some great white-ball careers, rather than ending careers because they possibly weren't good enough in the first place."