England will begin their T20 World Cup defence against Scotland at the Kennington Oval on Tuesday, 4th June. The match will be played on the same pitch where Namibia and Oman played out a thriller. However England captain Jos Buttler stated on Monday that instead of going into Tuesday’s game with “too many preconceived ideas,” he will encourage his players to adapt, assess the situation for themselves, and respond appropriately.
Jos Buttler planning to take it as it comes
Buttler mentioned that he caught “bits and pieces” of Sunday’s match and noted that England should be familiar with the conditions in Barbados. They played a five-match T20I series at Kensington Oval in early 2022 and also had matches there during their tour of the Caribbean in December last year.
“We’ve played some games here, so we know what conditions can be like. But it’s important not to have too many preconceived ideas and assume the pitch will play in a certain way. We’ve got to be prepared. That’s where communication and assessing conditions quickly – with bat or ball – will be key to the game,” Buttler said.
“We are trying not to play the game before the game has been played. It’s good to be here and get a feel for conditions, but on each day, you have to be ready to adapt… it is not in the batters’ favour all of the time in T20 cricket. We need to be able to adapt and communicate well as a team, and work out what will be a winning score,” Buttler added.
Namibia play out thriller with Oman
After reaching 109 for 6 in pursuit of 110, Namibia had to force a Super Over to win. In the last over, Oman seamer Mehran Khan bowled Jan Frylinck with a grubber that deflected off his pad. Their fingerspinners, Bernard Scholtz and Gerhard Erasmus, both trapped batters lbw with balls that kept low. The will surely be a matter of concern as England look to shake off the disappointment of ODI World Cup 2023.
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