With their World Cup hopes once again hanging in the balance, Jos Buttler says that England’s only focus is on victory as they prepare for a critical encounter with Oman in Antigua, and that they will worry about the question of net run-rate only when they’ve earned the right to do so. Jos Buttler‘s team is on brink of elimination and has to win two matches versus Oman and Namibia with a good run rate if they have to prove their chances to qualify to the Super 8s.
If that did transpire, then it would be an ignominious way for the 2022 world champions to surrender the title, just as was the case in India barely six months ago, when the 2019 50-over champions bombed out at the group stages with three wins from nine. But Jos Buttler – whose role as captain would doubtless come under intense scrutiny, along with that of the head coach Matthew Mott – is determined not to let his thoughts to drift that far ahead for now.
England’s performance in T20 World Cup 2024
With one point from a possible four so far, England go into their penultimate Group B fixture on Thursday on knowing that progression to the Super Eights is no longer in their hands. An opening-match wash-out against Scotland in Barbados was followed on Saturday by a 36-run loss to Australia, whereupon Scotland went on to thrash Oman with 41 balls to spare to open up a near four-point advantage (+2.1 vs -1.8) in the NRR stakes.
England do have another game in hand, with another must-win match against Namibia looming on Saturday. However, their jeopardy is heightened by the fact that Scotland and Australia are due to close out the group stage the following day, by which stage it could be that a narrow defeat for the Scots will still suffice for them to secure their progression.
The fact that England are flying blind is a significant complication, however. In order to nudge their NRR up ahead of Scotland’s over their next two games – thereby ensuring they would progress even in the event of the narrowest of Australia wins on Sunday (ie, via a Super Over) – Oman and Namibia need to be defeated by a combined margin of 117 runs or more.
England are unlikely to get much assistance or sympathy from their oldest foes, either. On Monday, Australia’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, hinted that he would be tempted to rest some key players if they can secure their Super Eights berth ahead of that Scotland showdown, which could further narrow the perceived gap between the teams.
Additionally, NRR in the group stage is not carried over into the next round, which means there would be no disincentive for Australia to stage a 1999-style go-slow to eliminate England, just as Steve Waugh oversaw in an infamous World Cup run-chase against West Indies a quarter of a century ago.
Jos Buttler, however, insisted he and his team were not going to be distracted by such permutations in the build-up to the first of their two remaining encounters
England skipper Jos Buttler opens up as as England face early exit from T20 WC 2024
On Tuesday, England skipper Jos Buttler spoke about the team’s run in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, which is in danger of coming to a premature end in the group stages. Winless in their first two matches, the defending champions are under immense pressure heading into their remaining couple of fixtures.
With Scotland edging ahead in the race for qualification to the Super 8s, England must win their remaining games by comfortable margins and hope for other results to go their way.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Buttler discussed the media frenzy around the prospect of England being eliminated in the group stages. He said (via ESPNCricinfo):
“I’ve played the game long enough now to know that it’s very good at building people up and pretty good at criticizing when it doesn’t go right, especially in England. I do the same thing when I’m watching a game of football or rugby – ‘how’s he missed that from there?’ ‘How did he miss from one-yard out’, or ‘someone’s dropped the ball over the line’. Simple things like that.”
The Englishmen failed to click as a bowling unit against Scotland and Australia. They failed to pick a wicket in 10 overs against Scotland, conceding 90 runs, before the match was washed out by rain. Australia scored 201 against England on their way to a 36-run win.
Jos Buttler shows confidence in his team to come good in remaining 2 matches
Despite the uphill task at hand, Jos Buttler said the confidence in the group is still high. He added:
“It’s very easy to say we’re in a tough position, but we haven’t played loads of cricket. We were outplayed by Australia, and had one game rained out. There’s still lots of confidence in the group. I care more about the team than the media and the outside noise. That’s always there, it’s part of international sport.”
The 2022 edition saw England become only the second team after the West Indies to win the T20 World Cup twice. England are currently fourth in the Group B points table with one point and an NRR of -1.800, behind Scotland, Australia, and Namibia.