FOLLOWING England’s seventh placed finish in defence of there world cup triumph four years earlier, there has been a lot of talk whether Jos Buttler should step down as England captain following England’s poor performances in India, writes Merv Colenutt.

My view is, if Buttler stands aside and I don’t believe he should, who would be in a position to take over, surely the thoughts cannot be of Ben Stokes or Joe Root, that is taking several steps backwards straight away and of the present squad who else’s name jumps out at you, well none really.

It has given me the opportunity to catch up with a couple former players who have always had cricket in their blood and firstly I asked former Somerset left arm spinner and first class and test match umpire Alan Whitehead.

Alan said: “when you have not prepared that well leading up to a World Cup, the skipper will always be the first to feel the pressure when you lose your own games with everyone seemingly out of touch.

“I believe that affected Jos Buttler’s batting from the off.

“Trying to motivate when you are out of form is no easy task and he didn’t come up trumps when you needed him to, so there has to be a question mark.

“Personally I believe England should build a side around Harry Brook, he is without doubt our greatest talent and although I believe at the same time Jos Buttler is under pressure, I also believe he is still the obvious choice to remain as captain."

Former Millfield coach Gerry Wilson added “a lot of pressure has been put on Jos Buttler during the world cup and after, but so many formats of cricket being played in this country now, is it hardly surprising that all the batters were out of form going into this competition, the captain will always be the fall guy and although Jos Buttler has had a really poor series, is there anyone better to choose from at the moment.

“I felt in every game that Jos’s eye coordination looked suspect and his stance at the crease was left static far too often and normally when he takes a step down the wicket he clears the ropes with ease, but being stuck in your crease with out any movement whatsoever, doesn’t give you that freedom to hit the ball cleanly and he was either getting bowled or because he was not in a position to hit the ball cleanly, he was just lifting the ball off balance to mid off and getting caught.

“At the same time however I would keep him as captain as on his day he is still one of the best white ball cricketers , but in a side at present all struggling for form, his confidence will need to be lifted quickly when they reach the West Indies."

So overall is Jos Buttler the best captain, I will give you my view next week along with a couple more former players and present members of Somerset CCC.