Jos Buttler intends to continue his England career after reaching a landmark he described as feeling “a bit surreal”, becoming the country’s most capped player across all formats.
The wicketkeeper batter brought up his 402nd England appearance against Sri Lanka on Sunday. That total comprises 146 T20 internationals, 199 one day internationals and 57 Test matches, a span that places him clear of every previous England player.
At 35, Buttler remains central to England’s plans as they prepare for the T20 World Cup, yet his focus stretches well beyond the upcoming tournament. He said: “To have played 400 is awesome. It’s a bit surreal. That hunger and desire to play for England is always strong and burns bright.
“At this age, people do start asking, ‘what are you going to do next?’ I don’t have a clue, but I know that I don’t really want to put a timeframe on it.
“From speaking to a few guys, they say you just know when the time’s up and you’ll probably wake up one day and just know. I haven’t had that moment yet, so I’ll just keep going until that comes to me.
“Once you get in the team, you think it’s the best thing ever and you just want it to last forever.”
Reflecting on the scale of his international career, Buttler highlighted durability and self drive as key themes. He said: “I’m just proud of myself to be able to play for that long, to have the resilience to come back from tough times, the desire to improve, keep turning up and working hard.
“I’ve always wanted to try and reach my potential. That’s been my biggest driver over the years, is ‘can I get to the level that I think I can?’
“In a weird way, you probably never ever get there which is what keeps you turning up to train and work hard and try and get better.
“To be honest, there is just a love of playing for England, how special it is. A lot of the time, just simply to look at the badge on your chest or on your cap is all the motivation you need.”
When asked to single out the defining moment of his career, Buttler pointed to England’s dramatic one day World Cup triumph at Lord’s in 2019. He scored a half century against New Zealand in the final before running out Martin Guptill in the Super Over, sealing victory on boundary countback.
“It will be my favourite day and it will take something special to top that,” he said.
Buttler also acknowledged areas of regret, citing “falling a bit short” in Test cricket, where he averaged 31.94 with two hundreds and 18 fifties, and the “disappointment” surrounding the end of his tenure as white ball captain after England’s group stage exit at the 2025 Champions Trophy.
He added: “For me, I think Test cricket was the pinnacle. Being a 2005 child [and watching the Ashes that year], that was always the thing.
“I think Test cricket can challenge you in every single way that the game of cricket can. I see that as the ultimate test.”