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In the wake of England’s 229-run thrashing by South
Africa at the Wankhede, Jos Buttler acknowledged that his team may have
“potentially” erred by electing to bowl first. He then acknowledged
that his team will likely need to “win every game from here on out”
to maintain their World Cup defence.
In spite of losing a wicket to the second ball of the
innings, South Africa, which was given the opportunity to bat first in Mumbai,
amassed 399 for 7 in their 50 overs thanks to Heinrich Klaasen’s 61-ball
century and the half-centuries of Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen in
the top order. Together with Klaasen, Marco Jansen scored 75 runs off 42 balls
as they put up 151 runs in 12.4 overs for the sixth wicket.
At that point, it was clear that England’s players
were wilting under the heat. Adil Rashid frequently left the pitch because to
gastrointestinal issues, and David Willey was overcome by a cramp during an
over. Additionally, Reece Topley had to leave with one ball remaining in his
fourth over unbowled after fielding the ball while following through and
perhaps breaking his finger.
When asked at the post-match presentations whether
bowling first was a mistake, Buttler said: “Yeah, potentially. You always
look back and reflect on the decisions you make. Obviously incredibly tough
conditions here in the heat, we saw that with the boys in the field. Everyone
put in a great shift. I still believe if it was 340-350 and we got off to a
good start it would have been a great chase. But yeah, potentially should have
batted first with the heat.”
Although Topley returned to deliver another five overs
with a strapped finger, he looks set to be ruled out for the rest of the
tournament. With three defeats in their first four matches, the defending
champions are already in a struggle to qualify for the semi-finals via a place
in the top four.
“It leaves us with no room for error, we have to
probably win every game from here on in,” Buttler said. “That’s the
situation we find ourselves in.”