"I want guys to back themselves and take risks" - Jos Buttler wants England to keep playing aggressively
England's limited-overs captain Jos Buttler has urged his teammates to continue playing positive cricket despite the inherent risk involved. The wicketkeeper-batter felt it was their aggressive play that helped them get to a winning total in the rain-affected second ODI against South Africa in Manchester.
England leveled the three-match ODI series against the Proteas on Friday in Manchester, thanks to their 118-run win. Despite a poor start, the likes of Liam Livingstone, David Willey, and Sam Curran played important cameos to propel the hosts to 201 in 29 overs.
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Despite the massive victory, the England captain said the team still has scope for improvement. The 30-year-old also heaped praise on the bowlers and how Jonny Bairstow's assessment sat well.
"It's paramount guys continue to try and play in the fashion we want to as a team. Can we do it better? Absolutely. But that positivity got us up to a score that now looks great. I know we can improve but that will consistently be the message. I want guys to back themselves and take risks.
"We're trying to ourselves on the opposition and put pressure back on them. These guys are bowling brilliantly. We spoke at the break and Jonny Bairstow felt it wasn't easy to score runs in the powerplay if we bowled a good length and we would make it tough for them," he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Player of the match Sam Curran hammered 35 runs in 18 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes, and added 43 off 21 balls with Livingstone. He later returned with figures of 2-0-5-1.
England are yet to win a white-ball series under Jos Buttler's captaincy
Buttler, who succeeded Eoin Morgan as England's white-ball captain, hasn't won a series with the team. The Lancashire keeper-batter has had a slow start as skipper, losing both the limited-overs rubber to India.
However, the third ODI against the Proteas in Leeds gives the 31-year-old a chance to record his first series victory.
On to Leeds for the decider ๐
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