Buttler hails England but acknowledges 'we are still in the same position'

By Sports Desk June 14, 2024

Jos Buttler saluted England's performance in their must-win game against Oman, but acknowledged "we are still in the same position" at the T20 World Cup.

After their opening match against Scotland was rained off, defeat by Australia left the reigning champions requiring victories from their final two Group B outings - and a boosted net run-rate to keep their title defence alive.

Buttler's side were on a mission against Oman, who they dismissed for just 47 with 101 balls remaining - setting a new World Cup record in the process - before taking just 19 balls to successfully chase down that target.

England must now beat Namibia in their final group game on Saturday - while hoping Australia beat Scotland the following day - to book their place in the Super 8s.

"It was a really good performance," Buttler said. "We have had some really good training sessions and spoke about how we need to stay true to ourselves, and trust we have got really good players.

"We spoke about needing to win two games of cricket and, if we had the chance to affect the net run-rate, that would be important.

"The tone was set really well by the bowlers, and they managed to pick up those early wickets, restrict them, and knock them off.

"We told [the batters] then to be ultra-positive. We spoke in the lead-up to this. We have to win games and if we get a chance, we have to take advantage with the net run-rate.

"We have lots of confidence in our team, and we have another big game to come. We are still in the same position. We still have a must-win game on Saturday."

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