First, the short-term pain for England cricket captain Jos Buttler: He'll miss the Twenty20 series against Australia — and potentially the one-day series, too — because of a right calf injury.
As for the long-term perspective, that should be much more healthy for arguably England's greatest ever white-ball player after Buttler was given a glowing endorsement by the man who is about to become his coach.
Brendon McCullum confirmed on Thursday he would be sticking with Buttler as England's T20 and ODI captain once the New Zealander takes over running the teams at the start of next year, having opted this week to combine that role with leading the test side.
At times, Buttler appeared to be weighed down by the responsibility of captaining England during the ODI team's woeful defense of its 50-over World Cup trophy in India, and then during the T20 World Cup — where the English were again reigning champions — when they underwhelmed before getting thrashed by India in the semifinals.
McCullum wants Buttler to reset, realize how good he is, and enjoy the final years of his career. He is adamant he wants that to be as captain, too.
“What I want from Jos,” McCullum said in his first news conference since the announcement of his overarching dual role, "is for him to enjoy the next few years. If he was to retire today, he would go down as probably the greatest white-ball player England has ever produced.
"There’s an opportunity over the next three, four years, however long he plays for, while he is captaining England, to enjoy it. Not protect anything. Get the most out of all those guys around him, keep walking towards danger, play with a smile on his face, and try to do something which is really cool, which he can look back on and say, ‘Gee, I enjoyed those last few years.’ That will be my job, to keep pushing him towards that.”
Buttler won't be doing that next week, when England plays fierce rival Australia in three T20s starting from Wednesday, after a setback in his recovery from a calf injury that has kept him sidelined since July.
Buttler has been replaced in the T20 squad by Jamie Overton, while Phil Salt will take over as captain — having also deputized for Buttler in the role for the Manchester Originals in the recent Hundred tournament.
The five-match ODI series starts on Sept. 19 so Buttler has two weeks to recover. Batter Jordan Cox has been added to the ODI squad as cover in case Buttler doesn’t make it.
England has already started blooding a new generation of leaders this summer, with Ben Stokes’ torn hamstring allowing Ollie Pope to take charge of the ongoing test series against Sri Lanka.
McCullum wants that to happen on the coaching front, too, saying it will be important to have the right team around him so he can, from time to time, have a break amid a busy all-formats schedule over the coming years.
That should help in enabling a successor to emerge, too.
“There'll be times where we’ll have to be smart with (rotating) players and support staff in and out, and that will include myself,” McCullum said. "I don’t see that as a problem. I’m happy to be governed by the results and be the one that’s in the gun if things don’t work out.
“But there's some opportunities for some of the other coaches in our group at the moment to step up and run the team in a head coach capacity. I think that’s great, because ultimately when I (leave) in 3 ½ years, you want the group of coaches who you've been able to bring along to be viable head coach candidates. Whilst it’s a challenge, it’s an opportunity.”
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
England coach Brendon McCullum playing football during a nets session at The Kia Oval, London, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)
England coach Brendon McCullum during a nets session at The Kia Oval, London, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)
FILE - England's captain Jos Buttler reacts after scoring fifty runs during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between the United States and England at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 23, 2024. England white-ball captain Jos Buttler was ruled out of the Twenty20 series against Australia because of a right calf injury on Thursday and might also miss the one-day series between the teams, too. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England players warm up playing football during a nets session at Lord's, in London, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, ahead of their test cricket match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have walked out of Arrowhead Stadium both elated and dejected over the years. Most of the time it has been January, and they have been playing the Kansas City Chiefs for a spot in the Super Bowl.
There wasn't that same sort of finality on Sunday. But another last-second loss was brutal in its own way.
The Bengals had fought and rallied and fought some more to take the lead on Evan McPherson's fourth field goal with just under 10 minutes to go. And after their defense had forced Kansas City to punt, it was on the verge of another big stop, when a penalty on safety Daijahn Anthony inside the final minute kept the Chiefs' own comeback hopes alive.
A few plays later, Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give Kansas City a 26-25 victory.
“It hurts,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor admitted, “but I'm really proud of the way we fought. We put ourselves in some really good situations in both halves. The defense getting those takeaways was critical. I’m disappointed that we lost. It was an emotional loss for us. But at the same time, I like where our team’s mental state is right now.”
It was an especially emotional game for Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase, who had to be held back from referee Alex Kemp at one point in the fourth quarter after he thought a penalty should have been called for a hip-drop tackle on him.
It was Burrow who physically dragged his wide receiver away as Kemp threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“It's just simply abusive language toward a game official. That's all it was,” Kemp said after the game. “There was really no interpretation. I'm not going to repeat to you what he said, but there was no interpretation with the language that he used.”
Kemp said Chase crossed a line when it became “profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal, abusive language towards a game official. That's the line. When that line gets crossed, we simply can't let that happen in pro football.”
Chase refused to discuss the penalty in the postgame locker room, saying only: “It doesn’t feel great losing.”
“It’s OK to be emotional,” Taylor said. “I can’t see everything that’s said or done, so it’s better that I not comment on it.”
The Bengals still have 15 games ahead of them, but they are already in a deep hole. Their surprising loss to the Patriots in their season opener means they are 0-2, and should Taylor manage to get them turned around and into the playoffs, they now face the prospect of Kansas City holding the tiebreaker over them.
That could mean another matchup in Arrowhead Stadium. Butker's kick on Sunday was the same direction, and almost the same distance, as the 45-yarder he hit against the Bengals for a 23-20 victory in the AFC championship game on Jan. 29, 2023.
There were certainly bright spots for Cincinnati, especially after its performance last week against New England.
Burrow looked much better throwing the ball, finishing with 258 yards passing and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he did not seem to be affected by his bothersome wrist in his second game since having surgery on it.
Burrow did fumble the ball, though, and Chamarri Conner returned it 37 yards for a second-half touchdown.
“I gifted them six points,” Burrow said, "so that was frustrating.”
Both of his touchdown passes went to Andrei Iosivas, who came through as Tee Higgins missed another game with a hamstring injury. Iosivas and tight end Mike Gesicki, who had seven catches for 91 yards, also helped make up for a poor game from Chase, who was limited to four catches for 35 yards and had the silly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
That flag was thrown after Chase's reception had set up a manageable third down midway through the fourth quarter. The 15-yard penalty pushed the Bengals back to third-and-22 at the Kansas City 45, and after a 10-yard pass to Gesicki, the Bengals had to kick a field goal for a 25-23 lead with just over five minutes left in the game.
Ultimately, penalties were a big reason why the Bengals came undone. They had eight of them for 79 yards. And while the one against Chase was important, the one against Anthony on fourth down in the final minute was crippling.
“We’ve been here before, unfortunately. We know what this feels like, and we know it’s a long season,” Taylor said. “We know we can get ourselves out of it. Stick together. Get our emotions in check and come back (next week) and play a great game.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki (88) leaps over Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) walks off the field after kicking a 51-yard field goal at the end of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Chiefs a 26-25 victory Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) kicks a 51-yard field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Chiefs a 26-25 victory Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
