Five defeats in seven represents a tough start to Buttler's tenure, following Eoin Morgan's retirement, but several factors have to be taken into account according to the ex-Test skipper
Jos Buttler deserves patience and time as England's new white-ball captain and the poor start to his tenure is no reflection on his ability to succeed Eoin Morgan, according to Joe Root.
The 62-run defeat to South Africa at Chester-le-Street was the fifth loss in the seven games of Buttler's permanent spell at the helm.
That streak includes back-to-back T20I and one-day international series defeat to India.
Defeat at Durham represented Ben Stokes' final England appearance in the 50-over format, the latest retirement this summer following Morgan's decision to call time on his international career.
Buttler says the team are undergoing a rebuild - they are also without their entire World Cup-winning seam attack - and Root, the former Test captain and a veteran of 188 limited-overs games for England says the rough start for the new skipper is understandable.
"I think for Jos and a number of the guys who’ve been around this setup for a couple of years, there's been a lot of change in a very short space of time," said Root, who top-scored with 86 in England's unsuccessful chase of 334 on Tuesday (July 19).
"And that sometimes can just take a little bit of getting used to and there's not been that time yet where you can really sit and reflect and sort of work things out.
"So I think there has to be some sort of understanding towards that.
Root top-scored as England were beaten at Chester-le-Street (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
"But they are big figures that you mentioned, influential players, and that creates great opportunities for guys to step right up and really take hold of a few positions within the team and not just in terms of performance, but in filling those leadership voids as well.
"There are some very talented players, some great cricket minds that can go on and do some special things like Eoin has done and Ben has done as well for the last seven to 10 years."
Little about England's approach with the bat, where they have been mainly fallible this summer, has changed from the Morgan era with batters given the license to express themselves. But along with conditions offering more movement for the new white ball, England's execution has been lacking and opponents have found them out.
Buttler wants to continue Morgan's philosophy but Root has warned the team must also develop.
"I think as a team, you've always got to look to evolve," he added. "You always do. And I think we did that very well over a four-year period.
"I don't think we just said ‘right this is how we're going to do it for four years and we can’t move away from that.’
"I think we grew and we evolved and developed and became good in different situations in different conditions around the world.
"I prefer to face a red ball in the last series rather than the white ball, they seem to be doing all sorts"
"We had to be if we were going to be consistent and take some of the best teams on in their own conditions.
"I think that's exactly as things will have to happen moving forward as well. I know Jos has got a great cricket mind, he understands this game brilliantly.
"He's going to be a great captain. And I don't think these results are a fair reflection of the way that he's going about his business as a leader.
"Sometimes it does take time for things to bed in. I don't think it will take that long with him. I just think that we haven't had a lot of the format. We've had a very busy schedule."
That busy schedule ultimately dictated Stokes' decision to end his ODI career at the age of 31. The allrounder admitted "there is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats," and the news has sparked a conversation about the relentless schedule.
"I think most important thing is that people turn up to watch cricket games that have got the best players playing and you want to play against the best as a player," said Root, who is essentially a two-format player having not been picked for a T20I since May 2019.
"I'm not personally driven by money, we are very fortunate to be in the position we are.
Morgan's role with Sky Sports means his presence continues to sit over Buttler's England (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
"Again, these are decisions that are out of my hands and thankfully I'm not even in discussions with them anymore because I’m not a captain."
South Africa can complete a series win with a game to spare in the second ODI at Old Trafford on Friday (July 22) where England lost by five wickets to India last weekend, the highest-scoring match of the series.
Root hopes conditions are closer to those that England enjoyed at home in the years leading up to their 2019 World Cup triumph.
"It's been conducive to a very different kind of cricket," he added. "I prefer to face a red ball in the last series rather than the white ball, they seem to be doing all sorts.
"But that's sometimes how things go. It's not been how it has been traditionally in England for the last four or five years but as players, you pride yourself on being able to adapt and conquer all conditions you come up against.
"Three out of the four have been very unusual white ball wickets to what you'd normally expect in England.
"But you've still got to be better than the opposition in those conditions and there have been, obviously, occasions where we've come up short and we have to learn quickly from that and we will."
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