For all latest news, follow the Daily Sun's Google News channel.
'I don’t think 50-over cricket will last'
Daily Sun Report, Dhaka
Published: 21 Jan 2026, 07:00 PM
-6970cde846460.jpg)
TANVIN TAMIM PHOTO
Sam Billings was part of England’s golden white-ball era. Now a franchise regular, the 34-year-old Englishman is enjoying life on the global T20 circuit, playing across leagues and building friendships across cultures — including a close bond with Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. In a wide-ranging conversation with Daily Sun, Billings, who is representing Sylhet Titans in the ongoing BPL, opens up about being stuck behind Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, the decline of 50-over cricket, and why winning, more than numbers, still drives him.
Daily Sun: Crazy first game...enjoyed that?
Sam Billings: Amazing game. Obviously, it was a very tough wicket. I think two quality teams. And, you know, any time 17 wickets fall and a 111 chase goes down to the last ball, obviously it’s a tricky wicket. But it was good that we got across the line. They have, obviously, Mustafizur (Rahman), one of the best death bowlers in the world, especially on that wicket. For Woakesy (Chris Woakes) to then come up trumps — it was funny, he said at the end, especially to Mo (Moeen Ali) and I, we know him so well — he hits through extra cover as well as anyone. That’s his best shot possible. And that’s what he said. He was like, “If I wanted it anywhere, I hit it wide so well.” So it was a great shot. And you saw the passion that we see from everyone in the team and everyone associated with the team. But also the fans and the buzz around the stadium was incredible. And that’s the most important thing, really — that interest level in cricket is always huge here and we always appreciate the support. Sport captures emotions like nothing else. So you saw how much it meant to everyone.
Daily Sun: You just came from Big Bash. You did that last year and this time as well. So how do you manage this sort of hectic schedule?
Billings: It’s all about just getting your mind right and focusing on what I do well, but also trying to adapt to conditions as fast as possible. Obviously, the wicket yesterday (Tuesday) was very different from Australian wickets. It’s completely opposite. So you have to try and temper the game. And look, obviously, the middle order — sometimes I think everyone gets so fixated now about strike rates, come and hit boundaries. And look, of course, of course I would want to strike at 150, 160 every single game. But look, all I care about is winning.
Daily Sun: As a T20 middle order batter, how much importance do you give to strike rate?
Billings: Yesterday, I was trying to score at a run a ball. That’s all we needed to do, you know, as opposed to trying to take the game on and losing the game. So I think as you get older, you realise you don’t care about stats as much. Of course it helps and whatever. But the role in which I play, sometimes you have to strike at low strike rates. Sometimes you have to strike at 200. I have the capability to do both. And, you know, when the opportunity arises, hopefully I can smack it.
But like I said, just from my mindset point of view, changing my mindset and adapting to conditions as quickly as possible — and also respecting conditions. I think that’s the biggest thing. You know, this game is very unique. Not many other sports around like it in the world. We’re playing on the living, breathing surface. So you have to respect where we’re playing and the style of cricket. You have to respect that, but also adapt to that. So that’s what I try to do. And look, like I said, I’ve been very lucky to be a part of a lot of winning teams. And all I care about is winning championships.
Daily Sun: Playing as a finisher, what sort of mindset do you carry?
Billings: Most of my career I’ve batted at four and five. And that’s probably obviously why my strike rate is probably a little lower than it potentially could be at different times. But ultimately, you can’t win the game in the middle overs — you can lose it. And it’s tough. You know, some days you need to strike at 10, 11 and over straight away as soon as you come in. The other day, the last day that happened, you have to manage the strike rate as well. It’s hard because every single day what’s required of you is completely different. You can come in the powerplay sometimes if you lose wickets. You can come in in the 15th over and you need to get 50 runs off 20 balls. So yeah, it’s a very difficult role. It’s the hardest role to play in cricket, in T20 cricket. But that’s something I like to do. I like to take responsibility. I wouldn’t ask anyone else to do anything that I’m not prepared to do.
Daily Sun: We heard Rishad and you formed a great partnership during the last Pakistan Super League (PSL)…
Billings: We’ve become very good friends. I think he’s an exceptional bowler. I really think he is one of the best bowlers around. I’ve been trying to get him to Kent to play as well. He’s such a humble guy. He works hard. He’s always got a smile on his face. And like I said, bowling spin in Pakistan and Australia are two tough places to bowl spin a lot of the time, and he’s been exceptional. He’ll only keep on rising. He’s a great guy, like I said, and someone who I think has got a very, very bright future. Hopefully he can keep on going.
Daily Sun: He said you were his biggest motivator in PSL during tough times of the game.
Billings: Yeah, well, I really appreciate that. And obviously I have a lot of captaincy experience now, but keeping wicket makes it a lot easier for me to give him feedback and tell him what I’m seeing with the conditions and how people are playing. It’s amazing as a wicketkeeper — you get a sense of how the batter is trying to play. So I’m trying to give that information to him and encourage him to keep on trying to take wickets, but then at different times trying to be defensive. Because defensively, if you’re bowling defensively sometimes, especially on flat wickets, it can actually be very attacking, because people are trying to come at you. He’s got so many different skills. He’s fantastic. Yeah, he’s an absolute legend.
Daily Sun: Just talking about keeping — coming from Kent — there are a lot of legendary keepers over the years Alan Knott, Godfrey Evans, Leslie Ames. How was growing up in Kent’s system, and why do they constantly produce top-level keepers? Is there any secret to it?
Billings: I think there’s Simon Willis, who was a coach in the academy, and Paul Farbrace as well, who obviously has coached all around the world and for England. But there’s been a consistency around keeping wicket, and probably a legacy. So there’s a huge pride in that and a huge focus on that. I think maybe it’s entrenched in the culture of the club. It’s fantastic.
Jordan Cox now obviously plays for Essex, but he’s a fantastic cricketer — a very natural keeper. He doesn’t keep that much anymore, but he’s another one. Ollie Robinson’s gone up to Durham — he’s a fantastic keeper as well. So yeah, we keep on producing them. And that’s a shame, that only one can play in every team. I’ve been at the club since the age of eight and it’s a very special place in my heart. I’m very proud of what Kent has achieved.
Daily Sun: But your international career basically coincided with two of the greatest white-ball batters England produced as well — Buttler and Bairstow. How did you fight those times when you were waiting in the wings?
Billings: I found it tough because it was very clear to see that both Jonny and Jos are unbelievable cricketers. Similar age as well — exactly. Jos is the same age as me and Jonny is a year older than me. So yeah, of course that competition is tough. But also you realise, I have no regrets. I think I tried my best every single time. Every time I was around the team, even if I wasn’t playing, I don’t think there would be anyone who said that I didn’t try 100% for the team. And it’s just timing, isn’t it? That happens in history. At a different time — even now I see, obviously I’m a little bit older now and that ship has sailed — but more opportunities came. That’s why I look at other players like James Vince, for example. I think they’re good enough to play in central cricket, but just timing doesn’t work out. Yeah, it’s a shame. I had different periods where I did really well and still couldn’t get in. But I have no regrets, like I said. It was a fantastic team. So it is just one of those things.
Daily Sun: Do you think you guys basically made that England World Cup winning team stronger — the ones who were basically waiting in the wings.
Billings: That ODI run basically showed how important that was. I think that’s a key thing in any team, in any sporting team. You need upward pressure. You need pressure from outside and you need pressure from within the squad, or in a larger squad. I think maybe that’s something in the recent past that certain squads have not had. You need people itching to take people’s spots. There’s a balance between backing people and loyalty, and having that upward pressure, because I think it brings the best out of people, especially at the very top level.
Daily Sun: How did England manage so much talent in that era?
Billings: That was something that I think Eoin Morgan managed as well as anyone, and Trevor Bayliss too. They encouraged that. If someone at different times — Alex Hales was out of the team, or Jason Roy was out of the team, or Bairstow — there were three of them for those two spots. It was incredible. That made everyone keep on pushing because you knew that if you didn’t perform, someone else would come in and they’d be world-class.
Daily Sun: That successful ODI generation basically came from the Pro-40 tournament, right? You were also part of that. Can you explain what sort of impact it had to later becoming a successful ODI side?
Billings: I think for young cricketers, Pro-40 or even the 50-over format is the best format of cricket for learning. Bowlers have to bowl with the new ball, in the middle overs and at the death. They have to bowl 10 overs, so fitness-wise they go through three phases and their fitness has to be strong. Batting-wise, you have to play the swinging ball, then you have to play spin in the middle overs and actually bat — not just slog. It’s batsmanship. Then you can smack it at the end. So there are different ways of going through the gears and learning batsmanship. I think for me that’s the best format of the game for developing young players. That was my best format as well. I grew up on that format. I averaged over 40 in List A cricket and over a run a ball, and that was just natural — it was effortless for me.
Daily Sun: Do you think List A cricket is getting less importance across the Test playing nations?
Billings: Yeah, around the world. Of course. Look, it might be a big statement, but I don’t think 50-over cricket will last, certainly in the international scene. Even in bilateral series now, the schedule should be — keep the World Cups, but the six months leading up to the World Cup should be that format specifically. Other than that, play T20 bilaterals. I think you should have warm-ups before the World Cup like the football World Cup, but actually leave T20s to all the leagues around the world. There are so many T20s now. From a schedule point of view, that’s the difficulty, and 50-over cricket is definitely a format that is dying a lot around the world.
Daily Sun: A lot of your batting seems influenced by racquet sports. You have a long history in your family — a lot of successful racquet players like your grandfather and your brother. Tell us a bit more about that.
Billings: Yeah, I think so, definitely. Being able to switch your hands and manoeuvre the ball quickly has always come naturally — very naturally. I think something the subcontinent maybe doesn’t have as much as countries like Australia or England is that growing up, we are encouraged to play different sports for as long as possible. I played everything until I was 16 or 17 — football, racquet sports, tennis, squash, rugby, absolutely everything. And I think all of that helps your cricket massively.
Daily Sun: You also had a trial for Tottenham Hotspur if I am not wrong…
Billings: I had a trial, yeah. I didn’t go in the end, but I was offered. I was 13 and I had to go on a cricket tour to Barbados, so I picked cricket. I wasn’t good enough for football. I loved it, but I wasn’t good enough to get to the top.
Billings: It’s all about just getting your mind right and focusing on what I do well, but also trying to adapt to conditions as fast as possible. Obviously, the wicket yesterday (Tuesday) was very different from Australian wickets. It’s completely opposite. So you have to try and temper the game. And look, obviously, the middle order — sometimes I think everyone gets so fixated now about strike rates, come and hit boundaries. And look, of course, of course I would want to strike at 150, 160 every single game. But look, all I care about is winning.
Daily Sun: As a T20 middle order batter, how much importance do you give to strike rate?
Billings: Yesterday, I was trying to score at a run a ball. That’s all we needed to do, you know, as opposed to trying to take the game on and losing the game. So I think as you get older, you realise you don’t care about stats as much. Of course it helps and whatever. But the role in which I play, sometimes you have to strike at low strike rates. Sometimes you have to strike at 200. I have the capability to do both. And, you know, when the opportunity arises, hopefully I can smack it.
But like I said, just from my mindset point of view, changing my mindset and adapting to conditions as quickly as possible — and also respecting conditions. I think that’s the biggest thing. You know, this game is very unique. Not many other sports around like it in the world. We’re playing on the living, breathing surface. So you have to respect where we’re playing and the style of cricket. You have to respect that, but also adapt to that. So that’s what I try to do. And look, like I said, I’ve been very lucky to be a part of a lot of winning teams. And all I care about is winning championships.
Daily Sun: Playing as a finisher, what sort of mindset do you carry?
Billings: Most of my career I’ve batted at four and five. And that’s probably obviously why my strike rate is probably a little lower than it potentially could be at different times. But ultimately, you can’t win the game in the middle overs — you can lose it. And it’s tough. You know, some days you need to strike at 10, 11 and over straight away as soon as you come in. The other day, the last day that happened, you have to manage the strike rate as well. It’s hard because every single day what’s required of you is completely different. You can come in the powerplay sometimes if you lose wickets. You can come in in the 15th over and you need to get 50 runs off 20 balls. So yeah, it’s a very difficult role. It’s the hardest role to play in cricket, in T20 cricket. But that’s something I like to do. I like to take responsibility. I wouldn’t ask anyone else to do anything that I’m not prepared to do.
Daily Sun: We heard Rishad and you formed a great partnership during the last Pakistan Super League (PSL)…
Billings: We’ve become very good friends. I think he’s an exceptional bowler. I really think he is one of the best bowlers around. I’ve been trying to get him to Kent to play as well. He’s such a humble guy. He works hard. He’s always got a smile on his face. And like I said, bowling spin in Pakistan and Australia are two tough places to bowl spin a lot of the time, and he’s been exceptional. He’ll only keep on rising. He’s a great guy, like I said, and someone who I think has got a very, very bright future. Hopefully he can keep on going.
Daily Sun: He said you were his biggest motivator in PSL during tough times of the game.
Billings: Yeah, well, I really appreciate that. And obviously I have a lot of captaincy experience now, but keeping wicket makes it a lot easier for me to give him feedback and tell him what I’m seeing with the conditions and how people are playing. It’s amazing as a wicketkeeper — you get a sense of how the batter is trying to play. So I’m trying to give that information to him and encourage him to keep on trying to take wickets, but then at different times trying to be defensive. Because defensively, if you’re bowling defensively sometimes, especially on flat wickets, it can actually be very attacking, because people are trying to come at you. He’s got so many different skills. He’s fantastic. Yeah, he’s an absolute legend.
Daily Sun: Just talking about keeping — coming from Kent — there are a lot of legendary keepers over the years Alan Knott, Godfrey Evans, Leslie Ames. How was growing up in Kent’s system, and why do they constantly produce top-level keepers? Is there any secret to it?
Billings: I think there’s Simon Willis, who was a coach in the academy, and Paul Farbrace as well, who obviously has coached all around the world and for England. But there’s been a consistency around keeping wicket, and probably a legacy. So there’s a huge pride in that and a huge focus on that. I think maybe it’s entrenched in the culture of the club. It’s fantastic.
Jordan Cox now obviously plays for Essex, but he’s a fantastic cricketer — a very natural keeper. He doesn’t keep that much anymore, but he’s another one. Ollie Robinson’s gone up to Durham — he’s a fantastic keeper as well. So yeah, we keep on producing them. And that’s a shame, that only one can play in every team. I’ve been at the club since the age of eight and it’s a very special place in my heart. I’m very proud of what Kent has achieved.
Daily Sun: But your international career basically coincided with two of the greatest white-ball batters England produced as well — Buttler and Bairstow. How did you fight those times when you were waiting in the wings?
Billings: I found it tough because it was very clear to see that both Jonny and Jos are unbelievable cricketers. Similar age as well — exactly. Jos is the same age as me and Jonny is a year older than me. So yeah, of course that competition is tough. But also you realise, I have no regrets. I think I tried my best every single time. Every time I was around the team, even if I wasn’t playing, I don’t think there would be anyone who said that I didn’t try 100% for the team. And it’s just timing, isn’t it? That happens in history. At a different time — even now I see, obviously I’m a little bit older now and that ship has sailed — but more opportunities came. That’s why I look at other players like James Vince, for example. I think they’re good enough to play in central cricket, but just timing doesn’t work out. Yeah, it’s a shame. I had different periods where I did really well and still couldn’t get in. But I have no regrets, like I said. It was a fantastic team. So it is just one of those things.
Daily Sun: Do you think you guys basically made that England World Cup winning team stronger — the ones who were basically waiting in the wings.
Billings: That ODI run basically showed how important that was. I think that’s a key thing in any team, in any sporting team. You need upward pressure. You need pressure from outside and you need pressure from within the squad, or in a larger squad. I think maybe that’s something in the recent past that certain squads have not had. You need people itching to take people’s spots. There’s a balance between backing people and loyalty, and having that upward pressure, because I think it brings the best out of people, especially at the very top level.
Daily Sun: How did England manage so much talent in that era?
Billings: That was something that I think Eoin Morgan managed as well as anyone, and Trevor Bayliss too. They encouraged that. If someone at different times — Alex Hales was out of the team, or Jason Roy was out of the team, or Bairstow — there were three of them for those two spots. It was incredible. That made everyone keep on pushing because you knew that if you didn’t perform, someone else would come in and they’d be world-class.
Daily Sun: That successful ODI generation basically came from the Pro-40 tournament, right? You were also part of that. Can you explain what sort of impact it had to later becoming a successful ODI side?
Billings: I think for young cricketers, Pro-40 or even the 50-over format is the best format of cricket for learning. Bowlers have to bowl with the new ball, in the middle overs and at the death. They have to bowl 10 overs, so fitness-wise they go through three phases and their fitness has to be strong. Batting-wise, you have to play the swinging ball, then you have to play spin in the middle overs and actually bat — not just slog. It’s batsmanship. Then you can smack it at the end. So there are different ways of going through the gears and learning batsmanship. I think for me that’s the best format of the game for developing young players. That was my best format as well. I grew up on that format. I averaged over 40 in List A cricket and over a run a ball, and that was just natural — it was effortless for me.
Daily Sun: Do you think List A cricket is getting less importance across the Test playing nations?
Billings: Yeah, around the world. Of course. Look, it might be a big statement, but I don’t think 50-over cricket will last, certainly in the international scene. Even in bilateral series now, the schedule should be — keep the World Cups, but the six months leading up to the World Cup should be that format specifically. Other than that, play T20 bilaterals. I think you should have warm-ups before the World Cup like the football World Cup, but actually leave T20s to all the leagues around the world. There are so many T20s now. From a schedule point of view, that’s the difficulty, and 50-over cricket is definitely a format that is dying a lot around the world.
Daily Sun: A lot of your batting seems influenced by racquet sports. You have a long history in your family — a lot of successful racquet players like your grandfather and your brother. Tell us a bit more about that.
Billings: Yeah, I think so, definitely. Being able to switch your hands and manoeuvre the ball quickly has always come naturally — very naturally. I think something the subcontinent maybe doesn’t have as much as countries like Australia or England is that growing up, we are encouraged to play different sports for as long as possible. I played everything until I was 16 or 17 — football, racquet sports, tennis, squash, rugby, absolutely everything. And I think all of that helps your cricket massively.
Daily Sun: You also had a trial for Tottenham Hotspur if I am not wrong…
Billings: I had a trial, yeah. I didn’t go in the end, but I was offered. I was 13 and I had to go on a cricket tour to Barbados, so I picked cricket. I wasn’t good enough for football. I loved it, but I wasn’t good enough to get to the top.
Read More