{"id":296686,"date":"2023-10-21T21:24:19","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T21:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=296686"},"modified":"2023-10-21T21:24:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T21:24:19","slug":"england-skipper-jos-buttler-questions-his-decision-to-field-first-in-latest-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/%d1%81ricket\/england-skipper-jos-buttler-questions-his-decision-to-field-first-in-latest-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"England skipper Jos Buttler questions his decision to field first in latest loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
England captain Jos Buttler took his share of the blame for a historically bad defeat against South Africa, accepting he made a mistake by fielding first in the oppressive heat and humidity of Mumbai.<\/p>\n
Things could hardly have gone worse for the defending champions, whose World Cup campaign is rapidly disappearing over the cliff edge after three losses in four, with the Proteas running away with a 229-run win.<\/p>\n
That was England\u2019s heaviest ever defeat by run margin, while South Africa\u2019s score of 399 for seven was a second undesired record.<\/p>\n
The bowling was chaotic and expensive, the team selection brave but unsuccessful and the batting hopelessly underpowered by comparison to what came before it.<\/p>\n
But all of it stemmed from Buttler\u2019s decision to send the opposition in under fiercely exacting conditions, with the temperature peaking at 36 degrees and exacerbated by high humidity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you always reflect after games and question your decisions,\u201d Buttler said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith hindsight, with the physicality of that innings, potentially batting first would have been a better decision. It\u2019s a decision I took at the time. I thought it was the right one and I still believe if we were chasing 340, 350, we would have done really well in those conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically it was a really demanding innings and, like I said, it makes you question maybe in those kind of conditions whether batting first may have been the right call at the toss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buttler has had to front up after a hat-trick of unimpressive outings so far, with a nine-wicket hammering by New Zealand and a shock defeat at the hands of unfancied Afghanistan already on the ledger.<\/p>\n
On each occasion he has aimed for an unemotional assessment but accepts England are now almost out of wriggle room, an awkward place to be with almost a month of travelling left and five group matches remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly leaves us in a tough position. There\u2019s no room for error from here on in,\u201d he acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be incredibly difficult. We haven\u2019t left ourselves any margin from this point in. But we\u2019ll keep the belief. We\u2019ll sit down and go again. That\u2019s all you can do in this situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s obvious that we\u2019re not performing to our best. It\u2019s my job as captain, along with the rest of the team, to work out how we can get back to playing that brand of cricket, playing to our potential and getting back to our best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly won\u2019t be anyone giving up or having those kind of thoughts. We\u2019ll just have to dust ourselves down and stick our chests out and go again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heinrich Klaasen celebrated an outstanding 109 in just 67 balls for South Africa and was also floored on several occasions by the same exacting circumstances which made it hard for England\u2019s bowlers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to dig really, really deep there. I didn\u2019t have any energy left,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partner Marco (Jansen) played a big part of that. He told me that he\u2019s got me and that I\u2019m not allowed to walk off the field if I don\u2019t score 100.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like just breathing in hot air. Every time you try to run it\u2019s just sapping more and more energy and then at the end of the day your body just doesn\u2019t want to work with you anymore. It was just like almost running in a sauna for the whole innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019ve got to dig deep for your country as well, I\u2019ve worked my whole life for it, so it\u2019s a great moment.\u201d<\/p>\n