Ahead of England’s opening match at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 against Afghanistan, captain Jos Buttler said his team is “ready” to begin their hunt for the second T20 World title. Notably, England are in Group 1 of Super 12 and will start their campaign against Mohammed Nabi-led side on Saturday (October 22) in Perth. Other sides in this group are hosts Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland.
Ahead of their opening clash, Buttler admitted that the defending champions Australia are the firm favourite to retain the T20 World Cup title, but the English side shouldn’t be taken lightly, as this is a new era for England’s white-ball team, and they are very dangerous in the multi-team tournament.
“We are in a good spot. We have had really good games in the last 10 matches and played some really good cricket. On the eve of the tournament, we are very ready,” said Buttler at the pre-match press conference.
“No, far from it, to be honest. I think we are a dangerous team; we have got a lot of talented players who can win games on their own, and that’s a huge thing in T20 cricket. If you had to choose one (favourite), then it has to be Australia in their own conditions and being reigning champions,” he added.
England, who won the T20 World Cup in 2010, will be without their fast bowler Reece Topley, who was ruled out due to an ankle injury, with Tymal Mills coming in as a replacement. David Willey, Mark Wood and Sam Curran will further support the bowling unit. Regarding batting, Buttler will lead the charge alongside Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali.
Buttler urged his troops not to look back at what they have done in the past and to begin in a fresh manner to accomplish big goals for the side.
“I mentioned it to the players a lot, but this is very much a new era for the English white-ball team. A lot of them played in the past era, but it’s very much about looking forward now for this group. Not to spend too much energy looking backward. I think it’s really important to be that forward-facing sort of team talking about the future a lot, and that starts with tomorrow,” Buttler added further.
