“This doesn’t change the fact we are a good team. We were challenged today, and we’ve come up very short, but there is a lot of confidence that we can come back strongly,” said Buttler
Jos Buttler walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket against against India in the first ODI. Pic/ AFP
England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler doesn’t want to press the panic button just yet in spite of his side losing the opening One-day International to India at The Kennington Oval by 10 wickets on Tuesday.
England suffered the ignominy of being bundled out for just 110 in 25.2 overs, their lowest total against India in ODIs, with pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah grabbing a career-best 6/19 in 7.2 overs.
Buttler, appointed recently as England’s white-ball skipper after long-serving captain Eoin Morgan called time on his international career, was the highest run-getter for his side, scoring 30.
Buttler said batting has been his team’s biggest strength, and with big guns such as Ben Stokes and Joe Root returning to the side following the side’s triumph in the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston recently, it was a matter of time before the group starts to click.
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“If you look at the names of the guys in there, they are some of the best players we’ve had,” said Buttler. “Over the last five or six years, the batting has been our super strength, so there’s certainly no need to panic,” the captain was quoted as saying in Daily Mail.
“When you have had a lot of success over such a long period of time, it’s always going to be tough trying to continue that and evolve that. Pressure and expectation are always going to be there. That is the standard we have set ourselves over a long period of time and we deserve that expectation. This doesn’t change the fact we are a good team. We were challenged today, and we’ve come up very short, but there is a lot of confidence that we can come back strongly.”
Though Root and Stokes returned to the ODI side after playing the gruelling Test against India, they were both dismissed for duck, with Liam Livingstone too unable to open his account.
Buttler said England will have to look at doing better and not lose wickets at the start of the innings. “But we must look at it and think, is there a way we can try and manage it better, try and not lose as many wickets at the start? And we’ve got to learn quickly.”
Following England’s 2-1 loss in the T20 series, the ODI series starting on a disastrous note, though, certainly rattled Buttler who added it was a “tough loss to take”.
“It was a really disappointing day, and a tough loss to take. There was a little bit in the wicket early on, and Bumrah bowled fantastically well, but we didn’t deal with it as well as we’d like.”
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