NOW KILL THEM OFF
Buttler in pledge to pile on the Oz agony
JOS BUTTLeR has urged england to keep their boot on Australia’s throat as they look to seal their five-match one-day series at the earliest opportunity.
Buttler captained them to a 2-0 lead over the Australians at Cardiff on Saturday after eoin Morgan pulled out with a back spasm only 20 minutes before the start, and he may be called on to lead the side again tomorrow at Trent Bridge. Anything less than a 4-1 win will cost england top spot in the one- day rankings, with India replacing them.
‘We want to win every game of cricket we play,’ said Buttler. ‘ We’re putting in good performances, but it’s very important for us to continue to show why we got ourselves to No 1 in the world.
‘There’s a World Cup round the corner, so we need to keep polishing up in those areas we can improve. A by-product of that would be winning this series in comprehensive fashion. But we can’t get ahead of ourselves.’
england racked up 342 for eight in Cardiff, their highest one-day score against Australia, with Buttler thrashing an unbeaten 91 after Jason Roy’s restorative 120. But the stand-in captain believes they can do even better.
‘In a perfect world we probably could have got 20 or 30 more,’ said Buttler. ‘It shows the power of the side, scoring 340 and knowing we could have got a few more.’
Morgan is not england’s only injury concern right now. Chris Woakes is taking longer than expected to recover from a hamstring problem, and risks missing the white-ball matches against India next month.
Both he and Ben Stokes, also on the sidelines because of his hamstring, could appear for england Lions in a four- day game against India A, starting on July 16 at Worcester. The england management’s main aim is to ensure both are fit for a gruelling five-Test series against the Indians.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has pleaded not guilty to a charge of balltampering
during the second Test against West Indies in St Lucia. The game ground to a halt on Saturday, when the Sri Lankans refused to take the field for two hours after it became clear that referee Javagal Srinath had hit them with a five-run penalty for cheating.
Sri Lanka only agreed to carry on ‘under protest to ensure the upholding of the spirit of the game’, according to a statement from their board, which added: ‘Sri Lanka Cricket shall take all necessary steps to defend any player, in the event any unwarranted allegation is brought against a member of the team.’