England have "ingrained confidence" despite "not getting results", says Jos Buttler

England are 2-0 down in their ongoing series against South Africa, extending their losing streak in the format to five matches, and haven't won an ODI series since beating the Netherlands 3-0 in June 2022

England captain Jos Buttler is unfazed by his side's poor run of ODI form, stating they have "ingrained confidence" despite not playing "to the level we're capable of".

His side are 2-0 down in their ongoing series against South Africa, suffering a batting collapse in the first ODI to slip to 27-run defeat and following it up with a five-wicket loss 48 hours later.

They are now without a win in five 50-over matches and haven't won a series since defeating the Netherlands 3-0 in Amstelveen in June 2022. Since then, they have lost 2-1 to India and drawn 1-1 with South Africa on home soil before suffering a 3-0 defeat in Australia in November.

However, there are a number of mitigating factors behind these results. During the home summer both Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes retired while the series against Australia fell in between England's T20 World Cup triumph and a Test series against Pakistan. Numerous players were, therefore, unavailable or rested.

^{England are 2-0 down against South Africa and haven't won an ODI in five matches [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

Similarly, England are without a number of high-profile players in South Africa, including Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone (both injured), Joe Root and Mark Wood, while Jofra Archer is playing his first international series for nearly two years due to injury.

Addressing England's recent ODI performances, Buttler said: "There was a lot of change in the summer and we haven't played to the level we're capable of.

"[But] there's ingrained confidence in the guys over a long period of time in white-ball cricket. That confidence is fantastic to be able to call on.

"We're disappointed not to be getting results, but [we have] belief in the way we play and the success we've had over a long time. We need to push that envelope further and not rest on our laurels.

^{Moeen Ali echoed Buttler's comments, insisting England are not panicking [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

"There's a big picture of building towards the World Cup, and the T20 World Cup is quite a good learning for us that you probably don't have to go exactly on the form you have leading into it.

"The time as a team where we want to be really clear and set, ready to go for the World Cup is when we play New Zealand at home in September. That's what you're building towards."

Vice-captain Moeen Ali echoed Buttler's comments and insisted the team are not panicking: "There is no panic in the changing room. We know with World Cups coming up it is about getting the right team together.

"Rooty is a massive player at No 3, and he's not here, Jonny is out, Woody would be in as well. There's a lot of strength to come in. For the players it's about not getting too down, we want to peak at the right time."