NEWS
Follow UsEngland will have to do something special in their remaining two group games of the 2024 T20 World Cup if they want to qualify for the Super 8s. They first need to beat Oman (June 13) and Namibia (June 15) and do so by a massive margin, and then expect Scotland to lose to Australia by a big margin.
England’s opening clash against Scotland was washed out. They then lost to Australia by 36 runs. Meanwhile, Scotland have won their last two matches against Namibia and Oman and are currently at the top of the points table. What’s more, they have a Net Run Rate of +2.164, much better than England’s -1.800.
England skipper Jos Buttler, however, has made it clear that their first goal is to win the remaining two games and then worry about the NRR. "I don't think it's s**t or bust quite yet. I think it's quite clear what we need to do and how we need to play,” ESPNcricinfo reported Buttler as saying.
First and foremost, we need to win the game against Oman to have any chance going forward into the next one. So we have to earn the right to try and win the game. And if we can get ourselves in a position to affect our net run-rate, obviously that's what we need to do.
"We've looked at a few little bits but it's going to be ever-changing throughout the game. I don't think we need to consume too much energy today and tomorrow saying 'we need to score 'x' amount of runs or win by this much'. I think those kind of things will develop on the day.
"Obviously that's the situation we find ourselves in, so we have to be aware of that, but not be consumed by that. If we try and do that bit first and forget about trying to win the game and lose, then you've got no chance anyway. So I'd rather have some kind of chance going into the last game, and know exactly what we need to."
Talking about playing Mark Wood over Reece Topley on a slow surface against Australia, Buttler said: “In this day and age, it's not always about pace and statements, it's about skill. Sometimes you can have a plan that doesn't come off, but every time we're working out the best XI for the game coming up. We'll consider all the options, train well and pick a team we feel gives us the best chance."
The wicketkeeper-batter said his team is still confident and he cares about his side more than anyone else. "I think there's a lot of realism that we have only had one-and-a-quarter games. It's very easy to say we're in a tough position, but we haven't played loads of cricket. We were outplayed by Australia, and had one game rained out. There's still lots of confidence in the group.
"I care more about the team than the media and the outside noise. That's always there, it's part of international sport. If you get to this level, you have to be able to deal with it, the job you guys do, that's the job TV does. It's probably harder to completely ignore it in this day and age, but there's a level of acceptance. Our focus has to be on what we can do with our performance.
"I've played the game long enough now to know that it's very good at building people up and pretty good at criticising when it doesn't go right, especially in England. I do the same thing when I'm watching a game of football or rugby - 'how's he missed that from there?' 'How did he miss from one-yard out', or 'someone's dropped the ball over the line'. Simple things like that.
"People care. That's why we're able to do what we do, because people care and they want to watch. We're a proud team, we want to perform really well for all the fans. But to be honest, all the focus is on us and how well we can play. If we play as well as we can, we'll make our fans happy."
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