ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 1, 2021

Jos Buttler

Sharjah Stadium

England

Post Match Media Conference

England 163/4, Sri Lanka 137

Q. Where does that rank in terms of your all-time performances for England?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, right up there. To put in a performance in a World Cup, they're all must-win games in this tournament, so yeah, delighted. Delighted to, I think, come through the innings, as well. At periods I was finding it tricky, so to use all my experience and stayed patient, trusted that it would come at some point in the innings, and yeah, obviously delighted with the win.

Q. A lot has been made in this competition about how difficult it is batting first; you actually changed that sort of dynamic. How conscious were you of that sort of pattern and getting over that?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, well, it's hard to guess if the dew is going to come in or not. Obviously tonight it did, and I think it certainly changed conditions.

I think it was a great win for us as a team, to be -- the three matches before we've won the toss and done what we wanted to do. Today to be probably on the worse end of the conditions, to show the character we did as a side, one of our bowlers getting injured, guys having to step up and bowl some overs at tough times. I think the character in the group and what that will do for us as a side is fantastic.

Q. You talked the other day about getting in the zone mentally and kind of trusting yourself and your ability. How much of a different challenge was that today?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, probably needed it even more so to be honest. I think setting a target, the game is not laid out for you, especially finding it tricky early on. I think sort of soaking up some dot balls and you can put yourself under a bit of pressure but sort of believing that at some point I would come good.

I enjoyed batting with Morgs. I think he's a great person to have at the other end. We worked it through together, and delighted that we put that partnership together and got ourselves to a score which turned out with the way the conditions went, we needed every run.

Q. Is that as good of a day out as you've had on the cricket pitch in a long time?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, it's right up there, isn't it. Hopefully there's still more good days to come, but certainly enjoyed today.

Q. I know you don't play the game for personal milestones, but you are the first Englishman to score an international hundred in all three formats. How does that make you feel?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, it's great. It's probably something I'll look back on at some point, and it's a nice accolade to have. I think there will be a few more guys who achieve that feat, as well, so yeah, I think just more so just looking at today, just what it means for the team and what it means for us in the competition, that means way more.

Q. Obviously the innings kind of steadily built through a difficult period, lots of sixes at the end, but then there was a moment in the field where you got that direct hit, went out for pure pleasure. Which one gave you most, because you seemed to celebrate the run-out more?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, absolutely. I think the run-out at the time was the best feeling on the field today, you could probably see from the celebration.

No, as I say, I think we showed great character in the field. The conditions were tough, and losing a bowler, guys stepping up, there were some great pieces of fielding, Jason Roy's catch on the boundary there to dismiss him, to dismiss Hasaranga, and I think the level we've set in the field has been great throughout this tournament so far. I think we've saved a number of runs, we've created chances, and I think that sort of shows the selfless attitude of the group as fielding is one thing you do for the team and especially even more so than the other disciplines in the game.

Q. A few months ago Sri Lanka were thrashed by England in England. Today the Sri Lankan side bowled pretty well in the first 10 overs. What did you make of the Sri Lankan side, the young side, especially the likes of Hasaranga?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, absolutely. Whenever you play against Sri Lanka you know you're going to play against very talented players. I think both the spinners I found incredibly tough today, tough to pick them. They bowled great lengths.

I think Sri Lanka always produce very talented players, so we knew we were in for a really tough game today. We expected that. We prepare for that all the time, and there's lots of guys in the Sri Lankan team with very bright futures.

Q. You needed six off the last ball to get to a hundred. Is there a split second when you see the ball coming down, what you might describe as kind of a juicy thought where you think, I can hit this for six?

JOS BUTTLER: I don't think you get quite enough time for that, but I think just sort of trying to remain calm and hope that he misses his yorker or -- I was a bit unsure where he was going to bowl, but obviously been at the wicket for a long time and had enough sort of trust to just sort of stand there at that point and hope he missed his yorker.

Obviously it's a fantastic feeling to get that ball away for six and get to a hundred.

Q. Just on the dew, could you talk through the impact it had on the pitch specifically throughout the game?

JOS BUTTLER: Oh, I think it just made the ball skid on a bit more. I think especially the first sort of ten overs of our innings, the ball sit in the wicket a little bit. Obviously there's a very different bounce here at Sharjah to Dubai, the ball hitting the toe of the bat quite a bit, so maybe when the ball got wet, it sort of skidded on a little bit more. I think maybe it sort of skidded the outfield it happened a bit. I think at certain times here it can be sort of a stickier outfield, but those sort of low skimming shots tend to skip on, as well, on the wet surface.

Yeah, definitely a swing in the game, and as I said, delighted with the character we showed against those conditions to come through.

Q. You mentioned losing a bowler; is there any update on Tymal or is it too early to say?

JOS BUTTLER: Too early to say. We'll have to wait and see how he pulls up tomorrow.

Q. I just wonder whether you could talk about Eoin Morgan's batting today and how much a return to form for him means to the team and the way he played, as well.

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, I thought he played fantastically well. I think the position he bats in in T20 cricket forms a bit of a myth, but I think today he showed an immense amount of character. He was very patient. He soaked up the balls and gave himself enough time to get used to conditions, and we managed to put together a great partnership. It's never easy coming in when you've lost wickets early on and there's plenty of the game to go, but yeah, I think he certainly enjoyed getting a few out of the middle today, and we're all delighted when we see him play that way.

Q. Were the two of you worries when you only had 47 on the board at the halfway stage?

JOS BUTTLER: In a way. I think sort of the way we were finding the wicket, we were sort of talking about 120 might be a good score to keep us in the game. Obviously that would have been well short with the way the conditions changed.

But I think sometimes when you set your sights a little bit lower, it allows you to stay a bit calmer, and we found that if we did get in and keep extending the partnership, they would come to us and we would be able to accelerate.

The depth we had in the team with Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Woakesy, C.J. all to come, it does allow you to play with freedom at the same time.

Q. Four out of four wins for England; how does that feel? Do you think England has got the momentum to go on and win this World Cup? Secondly, we saw in this tournament that teams that won the toss, they have won the match, but today changed it. What would you like to say about that?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, obviously delighted to win the game. I think four from four is exactly what we want. We want to win every game we play in. I think the format is tough, and there's not much room for error, so every game is a massive game.

Like I say, we had to bat first today, and to still come through and win the game, we're obviously really happy with that.

Q. Three down in the powerplay, saw a lot of pressure created. How did you manage your mentality to play such a big game?

JOS BUTTLER: Yeah, I think experience. I think myself and Morgs, we've played quite a few games now where we just tried to soak up the pressure and build a partnership. We were finding it tricky, and generally if you're finding it hard work, the guys behind you would probably find it hard work, as well, so we didn't panic. We allowed ourselves time and sort of tried to take the options against the bowlers we felt more comfortable against, and at the ends we felt more comfortable against with one shorter side on the ground.

Obviously really happy with that.