England vs West Indies: Jos Buttler admits 'it's been a while since I played well' after opening ODI defeat
England failed to secure a victory in the first game of their ODI series against the West Indies as Jos Buttler's run of poor performances persisted. The match ended in a defeat by four wickets.
The captain of England didn't score more than ten runs before he was easily dismissed by Gudakesh Motie, a spinner who took two wickets for 49 runs.
He only faced 13 deliveries during his outing and had the lowest score among all the England batters, except for Gus Atkinson who scored only four. However, the rest of the team managed to score at least ten runs each, leading to a total score of 325 for the tourists.
Despite their efforts, the opposing team didn't manage to secure the triumph. This was due to an impressive performance by Shai Hope, who scored a century, leading the West Indies to victory with only seven balls left to play.
Buttler expressed in the interview after the game that he always strives to perform at his best, but it has been some time since he last achieved that level of play.
I simply have to put in a lot of effort and have faith that the result will be positive.
Buttler tried to hit a reverse sweep against spinner Motie, but mistakenly touched the ball with his glove and it went towards the slip. Alick Athanaze managed to catch the ball in his second attempt after initially bouncing it off.
Throughout the disappointing World Cup journey of England, Buttler was not able to score even a single fifty and his average was 15.33 in the nine games played in the initial round.
The English players who started the game, Phil Salt and Will Jacks, had a better performance compared to Buttler when they quickly reached 76-0 by the ninth over in Antigua.
Buttler commented on the amazing display of batting by his team and praised Salt and Jacks for setting the tone right from the start. Although the West Indies tried to slow them down in the middle phase, Buttler believed that their final score was remarkable. He mentioned that achieving such a target would require a phenomenal innings from their opponents.
The cricket game was amazing. Shai Hope and his fellow players deserve much praise for their impressive performance. They did exceptionally well towards the end of the game in completing the run chase.
"Kudos to Shai and Romario (Shepherd) for their impressive hitting. We can gain valuable lessons from their performance."
Buttler maintained a positive outlook on the team's overall performance, despite their loss.
Rehan Ahmed, England's player known for leg-spin bowling, stood out as the best performer in the match with 2-40. He managed to take crucial wickets at crucial intervals, nabbing Athanaze (66) through lbw and tracking Sherfane Rutherford's (six) movement to seize him at deep midwicket.
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Hope and Shepherd did a great job hitting sixes, which deserves credit. Rehan Ahmed's leg-spin bowling was impressive.
There are many positive aspects present in the game, we have executed a number of tasks efficiently, and there is always room for improvement.
Winning Is Possible From Any Position With A Hopeful Attitude
The captain of West Indies, Hope, scored an outstanding 109 runs without being dismissed, which gave his team a lead of 1-0 in the series consisting of three matches.
"We play to win and that's why we were victorious. My goal is to emerge triumphant in games and I have confidence in my ability to do so regardless of the circumstances," Hope stated in an interview with TNT Sports.
Shepherd was incredible as usual. He is someone you can rely on and excels at this particular level.
"We're commencing the series on a positive note. Our intention is to replicate this accomplishment during the upcoming game."
Hope achieved his 16th ODI century, which was his initial one against England. He also hammered four boundaries and seven sixes while playing.
In my opinion, England's openers performed admirably during the match. They would swiftly strike the ball to the boundary whenever we attempted to play off the line. It is crucial for us to quickly acquire knowledge and skills if we want to make progress. This is the only way we can advance swiftly.
We missed a few opportunities to catch the ball, which means that in order to become the top team globally, we need to perform at our highest level. Nevertheless, I am content with both the team's performance and their victory.
It's great to witness Alick Athanaze scoring runs as well. We always desire regularity, not just a one-time achievement.
"I am pleased with the fellas and I hope to sustain this positive experience."
The second ODI of the series will be held in Antigua on Wednesday at the same starting time of 5.30pm. Afterwards, the third and final ODI will take place in Barbados on Saturday and will also commence at 5.30pm.
Starting on December 12th, there will be a five-game T20 series held in Barbados, followed by two games in Grenada on December 14th and 16th, and two additional games in Trinidad and Tobago on December 19th and 21st. Catch all of the top live sporting events and much more with NOW.