England’s disappointing eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka could have left its World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, however skipper Jos Buttler careworn that he was nonetheless the fitting man to take the staff ahead.
“I think you’re always questioning [your position] as captain,” Buttler stated on Thursday. “How to get the best out of players… how to get the team moving in the right direction. I certainly have a lot of confidence and belief in myself as a leader, and first, and foremost as a player. But if you’re asking if I should still be captaining the team, that’s a question for the guys above me.”
The 33-year-old, nevertheless, conceded that his dreadful numbers with the bat (95 runs from 5 World Cup video games) have contributed to his staff’s shoddy show.
READ | ODI World Cup: England’s title defence in tatters after eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka
“If there was one golden egg that we were missing, then you’d hope to see that. But there is no secret. There’s no one else who can score your own runs or take your wickets.
“That comes from the start, from the captain at the front. I’ve been a long way short of my best. As a leader, you want to lead through your own performance, and I’ve not been able to do that.”
Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana acknowledged that England had underestimated the Lankans. “Because we had also lost three games and we only won against Netherlands, I think they underestimated us,” the tweaker stated. “We backed our strengths and went with a simple plan. That’s why we won the game.”
Theekshana credited his bowlers for his or her self-discipline. It was, in reality, the third successive sport by which England had not batted the complete quota of overs.
“In the initial four or five overs, we conceded a few runs due to our inability to find the right length,” he stated. “However, Angelo [Mathews] utilised his experience to adjust the length. Then Lahiru [Kumara] maintained discipline.”
“The pitch was a little different [to the earlier ones in Bengaluru]. There was some turn and a little pace and bounce. [But] it is not that accumulating runs was tough, as we managed to score 150 odd with just two wickets down.”
Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com
