Just looked to be positive: Buttler on England’s focus on nrr for Super 8 berth

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 14, 2024 06:11 IST

Jos Buttler said that he and England are focussed on controlling the controllable rather than getting ruffled by outside noise. On Friday, the Three Lions defeated Oman by 8 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2024 Group D match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.

Buttler’s men needed only 16.3 overs to secure victory and stay in contention for a berth in the Super 8. After not being able to take a single wicket against Scotland, followed by their 36-run defeat to Australia, Buttler and his team faced backlash, but the skipper did not let them distract England.

Buttler is now eyeing England’s ‘huge match’ against Namibia on June 15 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, as they look for a Super 8 spot.

“Been around long enough to know that people make comments. We know what's going on in the dressing room. We have another huge match to come. We can only control what we do, all focus is on that,” Buttler said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

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‘Looked to be positive’

Prior to the game, England’s net run rate was -1.800 as they found themselves in all sorts of strife. But after chasing down a target of 48 with 16.5 overs to spare, England lifted their net run rate to +3.081, way more than Scotland’s +2.164.

Buttler, who scored an unbeaten 8-ball 24, said that England had the complications of net run rate in mind before their run-chase. “Just looked to be positive, try to take advantage of the NRR,” Buttler said.

After opting to field first, only needed England needed 4 bowlers to roll over Oman. Adil Rashid was the pick of their bowlers with 4 scalps. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood accounted for 3 wickets apiece while Reece Topley went wicketless.

“Don't think anyone expected the wicket to play like it did, looked a really good surface,” Buttler added.

Apart from needing to beat Namibia, England are also looking at Australia defeating Scotland for a place in the next round.