T20 World Cup 2022: "I'm not a great watcher, so I didn't enjoy that much"- Jos Buttler on England's tense win over Sri Lanka
England captain Jos Buttler revealed that he didn't enjoy watching his team scrape through in a nervy win over Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup in Sydney on Saturday. The keeper-batter praised Ben Stokes and Alex Hales for playing an integral role in the team's tricky run chase of 142.
England won their final pool game against Sri Lanka to qualify for the semifinals. While they endured a mini-collapse after getting off to a flyer, Stokes held his nerve to see his team home with two deliveries to spare.
When we need him most...
He's always there 👏
#T20WorldCup | @benstokes38 https://t.co/zJW8TlFpaY
Speaking to Michael Atherton on Sky, Buttler said that England were determined to beat Sri Lanka and hailed Stokes for getting the team over the line.
The 32-year-old added that the all-rounder is made for clutch games and expects him to keep delivering in the upcoming contests. Butler said:
"I'm not a great watcher, so I didn't enjoy that much. We knew we had to find a way to win the game coming here today and thankfully, we did that. These situations - it's what Stokes is made for."
He added:
"I'm delighted for him, and while he's at the crease, it gives you a sense of calm. He can play a lot of roles; he affects the game in all three facets, and he's a proper competitor, and it's getting to this stage of the competition where you'll just see him grow and grow."
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka got off to a brisk start, thanks to Pathum Nissanka's fifty. However, they lost steam towards the end as England restricted the Asia Cup champions to below 150.
Alex Hales and Jos Buttler then hammered 70 runs in the powerplay to set up the chase for their team. However, the English side too lost momentum after a good start and only won with two deliveries remaining in the match. Stokes was unbeaten at the end with 42* off 36 balls.
"He's such a tough guy to bowl at" - Jos Buttler on Alex Hales
Jos Buttler lauded his teammate and opening partner Alex Hales for playing aggressively and credited the 20-run sixth over, where Hales launched into Sri Lanka's bowling, as the turning point in the chase. Looking forward to the semi-final at the Adelaide Oval, Butler said:
"I thought he played beautifully tonight. He's such a tough guy to bowl at, I thought that one over where he really took the game away from Sri Lanka was a huge turning point in the match as well."
He added:
"I think sitting there, one of us would've loved to be in the match all the way through. Just excited - we wanted to find a way to win today, get through to a semifinal, which is really exciting, and we go there looking forward to whoever we're playing at what is one of the best stadiums in the world."
England seal their spot in the #T20WorldCup 2022 semi-finals 🤩
They have now made it to the last four in three successive editions of the tournament! 👏 https://t.co/JzdGRkOB7A
England will likely face India in the semi-final and hope to win it after succumbing to New Zealand in the semifinal of the previous edition. This is the first major tournament for Jos Buttler as captain and a title win would be a fairytale story for him.