ENG vs BAN: Jos Buttler Admits England Was "Completely Outplayed" By New Zealand

Jos Buttler expressed his disappointment following England’s crushing nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the inaugural match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. On Thursday, October 5, England’s cricketing prowess appeared to have deserted them, as the Kiwis effortlessly chased down a target of 283 runs with a staggering 82 balls to spare.

England, batting first, found themselves losing wickets at regular intervals but still managed to post a total of 282 runs for the loss of nine wickets. In the dying moments, the tailenders Adil Rashid and Mark Wood stitched together a 30-run partnership for the final wicket. Jos Buttler believed that England could have posed a more significant challenge to New Zealand had they reached a total in the range of 320-330 runs.

Buttler didn’t shy away from acknowledging that the defending champions had been completely outclassed on the day. Nevertheless, he reassured fans that this loss wouldn’t derail their campaign, as there were still eight matches to play in the league stage.

Jos Buttler Admits England’s Shortcomings In The Game Against NZ

“Yeah, disappointed. Completely outplayed. But the first thing that springs to mind is whether you do lose by a run or a defeat like that, it is one loss at the start of a very long tournament. So, that’s something that I’d be encouraging everyone to remember,” Jos Buttler said in the post-match press conference.

“It’s certainly a tough loss to take we were outplayed but you know we’ve got a lot of experience in the room – guys who’ve been through lots of things and faced defeats like that before. So, just as we had won the game, we don’t get too high and we don’t get too low when we lose as well,” he stated.

England Got Off To A Good Start In The Second Innings

England seemed to be off to a promising start in the second innings when Sam Curran secured the early wicket of Will Young. However, the game took a dramatic turn as Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra forged an unbroken partnership worth 273 runs for the second wicket, guiding the Black Caps to a resounding victory.

“We fell short with the bat, no doubt about that. The pitch likely improved under the lights, but even so, we were far from our best with the bat and still managed to score 280. We should have aimed for a total of 320 or 330, which would have allowed us to apply more pressure. But I must say, there wasn’t much margin for error on that pitch, and both of their batsmen played exceptional innings,” Jos Buttler remarked.

England’s upcoming clash is against Shakib Al Hasan’s Bangladesh on Tuesday, October 10, at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium (HPCA) in Dharamsala. The team remains focused on regaining their form and making a strong comeback in the tournament. After all, they are the defending champions and one of the strongest teams in the tournament.