Jos Buttler was the top scorer for England with 46 runs. (AP)
England are yet to win a single match in the ongoing tri-series against Australia and New Zealand. Their tour Down Under has been a rather tumultous one. After a dismal showing in the Ashes, England surprisingly thrashed Australia 4-1 in the ODI series and now they have put themselves in a precarious position in the T20I tri series as travel to New Zealand to play the Kiwis for the first time. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler reckons that New Zealand could be a welcome change for them and said that they remain a positive unit. “The beauty of a tri-series is we still have a chance to make the final,” he said on Saturday (February 10). It will be a nice change of scene in New Zealand. We haven’t showcased our ability as we can, and there are guys who are determined to come back strong,” he is quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“After a poor performance in Hobart, we were determined to show what we are capable of tonight, but we weren’t able to do that. We didn’t soak up the early pressure and lost wickets. The game plan was to back it up to the end and go well. I never got going and we were never able to get to a defendable score,” he said.
England’s top order was taken out by Kane Richardson and Billy Stanlake at MCG in the third T20I and that put pressure on Buttler and the rest of the middle order. He was the top scorer for England with 46 runs. “Losing three early poles, I felt the best way was to then to take some balls and kick on at the end, but that never really happened,” he said. “I struggled, I was trying hard and it didn’t manage to work. I was hoping to be better than a run-a-ball with five overs to go and then really kick on, but it never happened. I’ll have to improve and look at where I went wrong.”
Australia, on the other hand, fired on all cylinders to chase down the target of 138 with nearly six overs to spare. England now travel to Wellington to play New Zealand. Both sides are looking for their first win in the series.