It was strange celebrating a tie, says England's Buttler

Jos Buttler admits England 'got out of jail' in the tied opening match at Trent Bridge, but they will continue their adventurous approach for the remainder of the Royal London Series against Sri Lanka.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jun 2016, 22:34 BST
Updated 23rd Jun 2016, 23:38 BST
England's Jos Buttler during a nets session at Edgbaston (Picture: Simon Cooper/PA Wire).England's Jos Buttler during a nets session at Edgbaston (Picture: Simon Cooper/PA Wire).
England's Jos Buttler during a nets session at Edgbaston (Picture: Simon Cooper/PA Wire).

Buttler and Chris Woakes both came to England’s rescue in Nottingham, setting the stage for Liam Plunkett to level the scores with a famous six off the final delivery.

Eoin Morgan’s men had got themselves into what the captain later described as a “pickle” at 82-6, chasing 286-9.

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But Buttler insists this is no time for England’s top order to start thinking they must tone down the aggression, which has largely served them well for the past 12 months.

Today, they return to Edgbaston, memorably, the starting point for their improvement after the 2015 World Cup, when Buttler and Yorkshire’s Joe Root hit centuries in a national-record 408-9 against New Zealand last year.

Reflecting on the more recent past and Plunkett’s heroics on Tuesday, Buttler said: “It was a morale-boosting finish to the game, but also a strange feeling because you don’t want to celebrate getting a tie too often.

“Great credit to Liam at the end, and it again shows what talent we have all the way down the order, and character in a moment like that.

“It was a bit of a get-out-of-jail.

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“We were confident of chasing that target down on that pitch, and we were disappointed we didn’t do that – but from the position we found ourselves in, it was nice to drag one back.”

It is therefore 0-0 with four to play. Asked if England may decide to bat more conservatively, however, Buttler said: “Not at all.

“That’s how cricket goes sometimes, and it’s very unfair to judge after one game.”

England batsman Nick Compton is to take an indefinite break from cricket after struggling for both club and country this season. Compton accrued just 51 runs at an average of 12.75 in three Tests against Sri Lanka.

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England (possible): EJG Morgan (Captain), JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, JC Buttler (wkt), JM Bairstow, MM Ali, CR Woakes, DJ Willey, AU Rashid, LE Plunkett.

Sri Lanka (possible): A Mathews (Captain), K Perera, D Gunathilaka, K Mendis, U Tharanga, D Chandimal (wkt), D Shanaka, F Maharoof, S Prasanna, S Lakmal, N Pradeep.

Umpires: B Oxenford (Aus) and M Gough.

Third umpire: P Reiffel (Aus).

Match referee: D Boon (Aus).

Related topics:EnglandSri LankaTrent BridgeNottingham