BRISBANE: Skipper Jos Buttler praised the character of his England side as they breathed new life into their Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday, but it was curtains for Afghanistan.
Buttler played a key role with the bat in a crucial 20-run win over New Zealand at the Gabba, which propelled England into the top two of Group 1 with one round of matches left.
“Really proud of the guys tonight, to come out with freedom and express ourselves with our talent, I was really proud of the character we showed,” said the captain.
Buttler, who won the toss and chose to bat against a side who could have sealed a spot in the last four with victory, added: “We’re a really dangerous team, we’ve got match-winners throughout.
“Having not played our best (until now), we were desperate to show that today.”
Buttler said it was to England’s advantage that they play the day after Australia in the fight for a semi-final spot.
“There’s a bit of a benefit playing that last game to know exactly what’s required of us. We’re going to expect a really tough game against Sri Lanka.
“But we’ll go to Sydney full of confidence,” Buttler added. Glenn Phillips led the Black Caps fightback in their reply, but once he fell for 62, the New Zealand challenge dissolved. The Kiwis were left to rue two big dropped chances when danger man Buttler was at the crease.
“I guess they never help, he’s a very, very good player,” said all-rounder Mitch Santner of the failed attempts to get Buttler out.
“We knew the chase was going to be a challenge but I think we put ourselves in a pretty good position to get there, we just fell a bit short.”
In the first game of the day in Brisbane, Dhananjaya de Silva scored an unbeaten 66 as Sri Lanka kept their slim World Cup hopes alive with a six-wicket win over Afghanistan.
