(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The Jos Buttler-led England are on the verge of elimination from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as they have secured only a single win out of their five matches and are currently sitting in the ninth position on the points table with only two points. One more loss would bring a curtains on their remaining little semi-final chances.
Defending champions England lost their third consecutive match of the tournament on Thursday against Sri Lanka by eight wickets at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. England chose to bat first but could not justify their decision as they were bundled out by the 1996 World Cup champions for a score of 156 in just 33.2 overs.
Only Jonny Bairstow (30 off 31), Dawid Malan (28 off 25) and Ben Stokes (43 off 73) were the three batters, who went past the 20-run mark. Sri Lankan pacer, the Player of the Match, Lahiru Kumara, turned the tide in his team’s favour as he picked up three prized wickets, dismissing Buttler, Stokes and Livingstone, ending up with bowling figures of 7-0-35-3.
Sri Lanka chased down the target in 25.4 overs with the loss of two wickets, that of Kusal Perera (4) and Captain Kusal Mendis (11). Pathum Nissanka (77 off 83 balls) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65 off 54 balls) forged an unbeaten 137-run third-wicket partnership and played a crucial role in Lanka’s second win of the tournament.
After the heart-rending defeat against Sri Lanka, England captain Buttler faced the press and expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance and is well aware that his side is almost out of the contention of the semis in the ongoing World Cup.
“It certainly looks that way (England are out of the tournament) and that’s incredibly disappointing. You get on the plane to come to India and we’re in a really good position as a team. Everything looks like it’s going to plan and it’s just not worked at all. We’re a really good team, done a lot of really good things in the recent past in white ball cricket, and 50-over cricket,” Buttler said in the post-match press conference.
“As I said – get on the plane with high hopes and a lot of confidence and belief that we can challenge for the title. So, to be sitting here now with the three weeks that I’ve been is a shock. It’s a shock to everyone,” he added.
The 33-year-old further admitted that the World Cup scheduling has nothing to do with them not faring well and mentioned that he and his team let down the country down.
“No, as players, the schedules are the schedules, and we’ve got a lot of things in our favor. We’ve got fantastic support from the coaches within the environment. We get fantastic support from our fans as a country, and we’ve let them all down.”
England’s next match is scheduled against India on October 29 in Lucknow.