England captain Jos Buttler admitted Australia put them under pressure after their 36-run loss at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Buttler decided to bowl first after winning the toss but David Warner and in-form Travis Head gave a perfect start to their team.
Warner was the aggressor as he took Mark Wood for 22 runs in an over. The left-handed opening pair added 70 runs off just 30 balls to give a brisk start to their team.
Australia came up with a collective batting performance as they posted a par score of 201 runs on the board. Head (34), Warner (39), Mitchell Marsh (35), Glenn Maxwell (28), Marcus Stoinis (30), and Matthew Wade (17), scored consistently for the Aussies.
On the other hand, England also got off to a good start, with Jos Buttler and Phil Salt adding 73 runs in the first seven overs. However, when Salt and Buttler were dismissed, England could not show much fight as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Adam Zampa (2-28) and Pat Cummins (2-23) were the pick of the Australian bowlers as they kept England at bay.
Jos Buttler said in the post-match presentation, “They came with a lot of intent, put us under pressure. They also bowled really well, bowled in good channels and also defended really well. The conditions were quite extreme with a shorter boundary on one side.”
Buttler showered praise on Jofra Archer, who returned with impressive figures of 1-28 in his quota of four overs. Buttler added, “Great bowler to call on as a captain, great variety and skill, lucky to have him back.”
The England skipper admitted it was always going to be challenging to score after the field restrictions. Buttler added, “Outside the powerplay, it was always going to be a challenge. Zampa bowled really well in the middle overs, their pacers also made use of the longer boundary well. We came second today but it’s laid out for us what we need to do in the coming games.”
England will next take on Oman at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on Thursday.
