England captain Jos Buttler said that he hasn’t played well as a bowler in a while after his team lost by four wickets to West Indies in the first ODI. He said that he needs to work hard and have faith that his form will return. In the first ODI of their three-game series, West Indies beat England by four wickets on Sunday at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, making history. Captain Shai Hope was the star of the match with his 16th ODI century.
According to Sky Sports, Buttler said after the game, “You always want to play well, and it’s been a while since I have played well.”
“I just need to work hard and trust that it will come back,” he said.
Buttler has only scored 141 runs in the last 10 ODI games, with a best score of 43. His average is 14.10. The Cricket World Cup just ended, and Buttler only made 138 runs in nine innings, with a best score of 43. His average was 15.33, and his best score was 15.33. His poor run with the bat made England’s terrible World Cup season even worse; they only won three of their nine games.
Buttler praised West Indies captain Shai Hope and his team’s opening performance and was also pleased with his own team’s performance.
“Great game of cricket. It’s all because of Shai Hope. They had to answer a lot of questions, but in the end they played really well. I thought England’s hitting was great, and I loved how determined they were when they came out. They bowled well and slowed it down, but it was still a great effort. The wicket was a little tricky in the middle. Shai Hope and Shepherd played a great game of cricket. They hit the ball very well, and we will learn a lot from that. “We did some things well, learned a lot, and are looking forward to the next one,” the captain said.
England chose to bat first and got 325 runs in the game. Phil Salt (45 off 28 balls, five fours, and three sixes) and Will Jacks (26 off 24 balls, three fours, and a six) put together 77 runs for the first wicket in nine overs.
Zak Crawley (48 off 63 balls, 5 fours), Ben Duckett (20 off 23 balls, 4 fours), and captain Jos Buttler (3) all missed big chances because the bowlers were too tight. It got to 191/5 at one point.
Bowlers lost wickets at the other end, but Harry Brook struck them back. He scored 71 runs in 72 balls, with seven fours and two sixes. Later, Sam Curran (38 in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Brydon Carse (31* in 21 balls, with two fours and two sixes) tied for the eighth wicket and scored 66 runs. This put England over 300 runs.
The bowlers who did the best job were Gudakesh Motie (2/49), Oshane Thomas (2/57) and Romario Shepherd (2/77). The visitors were out for 325 on the last ball of their innings.
Even though England thought they could protect the score, openers Alick Athanaze (66 runs off 65 balls, including nine fours and two sixes) and Brandon King (35 runs off 44 balls, including four fours and a six) put the English bowlers in a lot of trouble.
The champions of the 2019 World Cup did not expect Hope to hit seven sixes in a quick 109*, which changed the tide of the match in favor of the hosts. Hope’s innings took only 83 balls, and Romario Shepherd’s late-innings hitting (49 off 28 balls, with four fours and three sixes) sealed the win for the West Indies, much to the joy of the loud Antiguan crowd.
It was spinner Rehan Ahmed (2/40) and fast bowler Gus Atkinson (2/63) who did their best for England.
Hope got the “Player of the Match” award for making a hundred. West Indies has won all three games and now has a 1-0 lead.
