England captain Jos Buttler does not feel he has limited options in bowling, but wants his bowlers to stop leaking boundaries that ease pressure on opposition after Saturday’s loss to Australia in the Champions Trophy in Lahore.
Josh Inglis scored an unbeaten century as Australia chased down England’s total of 351-8 to clinch a thrilling five-wicket win in their campaign opener, with English quicks Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse bleeding most of the runs.
Spinner Adil Rashid was the most economical of the bowlers for England, while Joe Root and Liam Livingstone also conceded runs below Australia’s required rate of more than seven per over.
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“I didn’t feel short at all. No, we liked the balance of the team that we went with. I thought Root and Livingstone bowled really well, built some nice pressure there together,” Buttler told reporters.
“I just think, you’ve got to sometimes credit the opposition. I thought Josh Inglis played a fantastic innings.”
England had Australia under pressure with the 50-over world champions losing two early wickets, but the game turned on its head as Inglis and Alex Carey built a 146-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
“I thought there were a few phases in the game where we bowled really nicely in partnerships and we starved them of the boundaries and that created chances,” Buttler said.
“A couple of times, I was just trying to find a way of just reducing that boundary in the over and any time the pressure came, they managed to play a really good shot or get away.
“I think that’s always the focus for me as a captain and this is a bowling unit, just ways that we can restrict that extra boundary in the over to keep pushing the scoreboard pressure up there.”
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England play Afghanistan in their second Group B game at the same venue on Wednesday.
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