Buttler insists England bow out with pride, but three losses to four major opponents begs to differ
Matt Roller27-Jun-20241:35
What next for Jos Buttler?
From the heights of South Australia to the depths of South America. If England were dominant in their T20 World Cup semi-final win over India in Adelaide 19 months ago, they were outthought, outplayed and outclassed by the same opponents in Guyana on Thursday. This was not just a defeat, but a thrashing.They were not good enough to restrict India with the ball, allowing them to reach a total which Jos Buttler considered to be 20-25 runs above par on a surface which was never likely to suit England, characterised by low bounce. With the bat, their only hope was for Buttler to score half the runs himself: when he reverse-swept the 19th ball of the chase behind, the game was as good as over.A series of different decisions will fall under the spotlight: was it the right call at the toss to bowl first on a pitch that would only get slower and lower as the day wore on? Did England really need four different seam options in such extreme conditions? Why was Tom Hartley in the squad for six weeks if not for this game, at this venue? England played the game they wanted, not the one they got.But, as Buttler recognised, this was not a semi-final defined by marginal calls. It was more than that, a complete thrashing inflicted by a team who have made great strides since the last World Cup on an opponent who have stagnated. A 68-run margin reflected England’s shortcomings as much as India’s strengths.”I don’t think [the toss] was the difference between the two sides,” Buttler said. “We thought long and hard about selection … but I think India played a really good game of cricket: whatever team or whatever happens, they were going to be a tough team to beat. We had to be at our best if we were going to win the game and we were short of our best today.”Axar Patel celebrates after getting the better of Jos Buttler•ICC/Getty ImagesIt begs the question: why weren’t they? A pitch with low bounce and grip was always more likely to suit India but England can have few excuses. The side they picked on Thursday has played 157 T20Is in the Caribbean between them and has made 436 appearances in the IPL, facing the same bowlers they came up against in Guyana, yet they were still found wanting.With the ball, they were either too slow to assess conditions or too greedy to respect them – unlike two years ago when they won in Australia. This was a surface which rewarded seamers for bashing the ball into the surface on a 6-8 metre length and whenever England strayed from that they were punished, primarily by Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.Rohit played with the freedom that once characterised England’s batters, emboldened to attack without fear of failure. He took risks in the Powerplay and they paid off, his 39-ball 57 the outstanding innings on either side. And it is not long ago that England’s batters were considered innovators, but now – as epitomised by two extraordinary sixes over fine leg and extra cover respectively – Suryakumar is the world’s trailblazer.England’s chase betrayed a side who seemed helpless to adjust to what they had already seen. They were right to attack in the Powerplay while chasing an above-par total but they lacked the skill to counter India’s spinners: Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav rarely left the stumps and accounted for England’s middle order in the process.Related
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England expected this World Cup to play out as “a slugfest” and for the first two rounds they were not far off: they were drawn to play in Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia and generally played on flat pitches with true bounce. They were nearly eliminated by the rain but were impressive in the Super Eight, cruising past a strong West Indies and thrashing the United States.They were clinical against weaker opposition throughout but the wider lens is much less flattering: against Full Members, England lost three games out of four, with defeats to Australia, South Africa and India. They may have reached the semi-finals – the only team to have done so at the last four men’s T20 World Cups – but they have never resembled champions-elect.”I think reaching a semi-final of a World Cup is an achievement,” Buttler insisted. “We wanted to obviously go all the way: that was what we came here for. We faced lots of challenges and adversity throughout the whole tournament and we’ve stuck together well and played well enough to get to this stage. But unfortunately at this stage, we’ve fallen short.”I look back to Leeds when we all met up: I think everyone has made progress. We’ve played well, and not well enough. There’s stuff that we’ve been doing behind the scenes – the way we’ve prepared, the way we’ve trained, the way we’ve played in patches – that has been really good. There’s a lot of talent in the team and we came up against a top team today in these conditions.”There was no shame in losing to India, who are clear favourites heading into Saturday’s final in Barbados. But the manner of the defeat must prompt introspection for England and their white-ball set-up as a whole. They were beaten not only by the better team, but the braver one: India were rewarded for their attacking intent while England folded meekly.This was a strange day and a strange spectacle, elongated by rain and with India clearly advantaged by the predetermination of their semi-final venue. With only a handful of travelling fans able to make the trip, England’s rare boundaries were met by silence from the half-filled crowd: it was an apt reception for an elimination which has loomed for weeks.
