Jos Buttler confident England are on course for World Cup double

Eoin Morgan's side completed a 3-0 series whitewash of South Africa in Cape Town to go to No.1 in the T20 world rankings

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Reaching the summit of the world rankings was all part of Eoin Morgan's plan to win the 50-over World Cup in 2019.

And while such a standing offers no guarantee of success, achieving an identical status less than 12 months out from the T20 showcase in India means England's hopes of becoming the first nation to hold both white-ball titles simultaneously remain realistic.

A fourth spell top of the tree was secured thanks to a 3-0 whitewash of South Africa. The third T20 in Cape Town saw another vintage display from Dawid Malan, who struck an unbeaten 99 and put on a record second-wicket partnership of 167 with Jos Buttler.

England cruised to the target of 192 with nine wickets in hand and 16 balls to spare. As with their ODI displays in the lead up to the World Cup, victory was delivered with an unerring level of confidence. There is a feeling of deja vu about their dominance.

Buttler, a key member of the world champions' outfit, is optimistic things are heading in a similar direction in time for next year.

"Mission accomplished really to come in here with our strongest team which was really exciting for us as a side and win the series 3-0," he said.

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"Certainly things can be learned (from 2019). I thought we had role clarity as a 50-over side which in all conditions picked itself. 

"That was a great place to be and that is what we're trying to build in the T20 side. It is fantastic for these games to have all our players available. 

"The T20 guys go off and play in franchise tournaments which is a huge bonus as well and that brings a lot of confidence to the team.

"Jofra Archer being the MVP of the biggest T20 tournament in the world gives us a lot of confidence in the dressing room with guys performing so well in different tournaments and bodes well for us as a side."

While a good body of work is always important, the T20 World Cup often goes against the form guide. No side to lead the ICC standings before the tournament has gone on to scoop the title since they were introduced in 2012. West Indies' double win and Sri Lanka's success didn't come from a position of total dominance.

"It is something," added Buttler. "It is fantastic as a side to achieve that status. Going into the 50-over World Cup there was a lot of research done on the teams who win it comes from the top one or two in the world so that is an aim for us to try and achieve that."

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