Joe Root quotes Chumbawamba and urges England to step-up during ODI transition phase

Buttler, who took over the captaincy role, oversaw 2-1 defeats against India in both the Twenty20 and the one-day formats. To make matters worse, the team were well beaten in Tuesday's first ODI against South Africa.

Morgan only lost two home series in seven years at the helm, while Buttler is facing the prospect of matching that number in a fortnight.

England will be looking to bounce back on Friday and Sunday when they take on the Proteas at Old Trafford and Headingley.

Buttler will also have to plan for a future without all-rounder Ben Stokes who announced his retirement from ODI's earlier this week.

Joe Root believes the current transition phase provides an opportunity for a number of experienced players to step up.

He said: "I've been around this team for a long time now and it's a great opportunity for guys like myself to stand up and try and fill some of those voids.

"There's been a lot of change in a very short space of time and sometimes that can just take a little bit of getting used to. They (Morgan and Stokes) are big figures, influential players, and it creates great opportunities for guys to step right up and really take hold of a few positions within the team. Not just in terms of performance, but in filling those leadership voids as well.

"Jos is doing a great job, there's no doubt about that. I think everyone wants to contribute and everyone is fully behind him. We've all got to do our bit to turn this around.

"I think any senior player has that responsibility. Of course it's not in an official capacity, but there's so many different ways you can lead, there's so many different ways you can help and be a valuable member of a team."

With 12 limited-overs internationals in 24 days, with two formats, two opponents and eight venues, every last drop is being squeezed from the players. Stokes, for one, decided he had enough.

For those still going, Root cited inspiration from an unexpected source - popular Brit-pop tune 'Tubthumping'.

"It's like that Chumbawamba song - you get knocked down, but you get back up again - that is exactly how we've got to go about things," he said.

"We've got to just turn things around as quickly as we can, because the games do come quite thick and fast. It is hard the schedule, it is, but as a player you can't really change it. If you want to play you crack on unfortunately."