We were a long way short of our best and still made 280: Jos Buttler

The 2019 World Cup final rematch was supposed to be one of the most well-contested games of the 2023 edition, yet it was anything but that. The unfortunate team of the July 14, 2019 night, New Zealand, came out victorious comprehensively with a nine-wicket win, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra spearheading the run-chase with a partnership for ages. 

After being asked to bat first, the defending champions lost wickets in regular intervals and ended up with a total of 282 runs on board. Barring Joe Root, not a single England batter crossed the 50-run mark, but they still ended with a par total on board. That talked about England’s strength in the batting department, which is the biggest positive for Jos Buttler.

“We had a lot of starts. I thought we were just a bit off in our execution. We weren't quite clinical enough with our shot-making and gifted New Zealand a few wickets. And as I just mentioned, we were a long way short of our best and still made 280, which shows the level that we can play at,” Buttler said in the post-match press conference in Ahmedabad.

“Sometimes you don't play as well as you would like. Everyone's working hard, everyone's prepared well, and as I said, we were just a bit off. In international cricket, when you're a little bit short and the opposition played very well, you're going to lose the game of cricket. So, there's plenty of stuff for us to work on and get better at the start of a long tournament. As I said, it's one loss. It's a tough one, but we'll be better for the next one,” Buttler added.

Also Read: Fearless & full of swagger, Rachin Ravindra sets the World Cup alight

Will Young departed early, but New Zealand had Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra to fall back on as the duo forged an unbeaten 273-run partnership. Both managed centuries from their end, but what was impressive was the way they negotiated a strong English bowling line-up. While Conway have a lot of experience of playing in India, thanks to his stint with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Rachin, whose family hails from Bengaluru, was bang on both with bat and ball. 

“We played against him recently, and he got some runs at Lords and played really well. And obviously, in the warm-up game at Hyderabad, I think he opened the batting or batted three and played really well as well,” Buttler added.

“So, I think the two guys, if I look back, it wasn't like they were playing outrageous shots or scooping it over the keeper's head. They played excellent cricket shots and got fantastic value on that pitch. I thought it was a fantastic batting wicket. The margin felt very small for the bowlers and if you're a little bit off, they put you away. So, I thought those two guys played really, really well and put together obviously a quite incredible partnership,” the England skipper added.