ENG vs NZ: Jos Buttler Admits England Were Outplayed By New Zealand In WC 2023 Opener, Says "We Were Well Below Par"

England captain Jos Buttler talked about the thrashing loss that his side faced in the first game of the ICC World Cup 2023. He admitted that his team was outplayed by the Kiwis as they lacked being clinical on the field. 

Defending champions England had a poor start to their campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023. They suffered a disappointing 9-wicket loss against New Zealand, who outclassed them in all three departments of the game. The Jos Buttler-led side looked clueless all throughout the game. 

After being put into bat first, England had a decent outing with the bat, thanks to Joe Root and skipper Jos Buttler. They steadied the ship after the team lost early wickets and made sure that they kept their team in the hunt and post fighting total on the board. 

Joe Root scored 77 runs whereas Jos Buttler added 43 runs as England posted a total of 282 runs on the board. Among other batters, only Jonny Bairstow crossed the 30-run mark while others couldn’t go past that. 

With the ball, England looked clueless as Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway took the attack to the England bowlers and smashed them all over the park. They made opportunity bowlers look clueless and it didn’t even once seem that defending champions are in the game. 

While Devon Conway ended with a knock of 152 runs, Rachin Ravindra scored an unbeaten 123 runs as New Zealand completed a 9-wicket win over England. 

Jos Buttler admitted that they were below par as they were aiming 330 runs and they didn’t execute their shots. Speaking at the post-match presentation, he explained: 

“Disappointing day, outplayed by New Zealand, tough to take that defeat. One loss, still a long tournament. Lot of guys in our team have played a lot of cricket. We have beaten teams this way before and we have been at the end of such results before.

“I thought we were well below par, not judging by the way New Zealand batted, because we were aiming for somewhere around 330. 

“It was a good wicket to bat and I think it got even better in the second innings. Tough to build any pressure with the start they got. We lacked being clinical with our executions. Some of those dismissals, the right shots weren’t quite executed. We will keep it positive, we’ll keep playing our way, can’t be too defensive but we weren’t clinical in shot selection and execution.”

Margin for error was very less on that pitch – Jos Buttler 

Jos Buttler further talked about the conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He added that the margin of error was less on the pitch and he also credited Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway for their innings. He explained: 

“I think they played some really good shots and got value for it. Margin for error was very less on that pitch. Someone like Conway, he didn’t play any massive shots, but he scored very quickly. Same is the case with Rachin Ravindra. The two guys played exceptionally well, fantastic partnership and we all were beaten. 

“Skidded on even better under lights, that’s why we wanted to bowl as well. I thought he is back to his old self. Don’t think there is any question about Joe. He’s a run-maker in any format he plays. We will wait and see. He is working hard with the physio.” 

England will be next seen in action when they take on Bangladesh in their second match on 10th October in Dharamsala.