Mumbai: Defending champions England were stunned by Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup and England skipper Jos Buttler on Friday insisted that his side has moved on. At the Kotla in New Delhi, Afghanistan stunned England by 69 runs on Sunday, October 15. England have so far played three games in the ongoing edition of the World Cup and suffered two defeats - against New Zealand and Afghanistan, while they managed a sole win against Bangladesh in Dharamsala.
"We had a few days to let the defeat sink in and moved on and focused. We had some good conversations and the energy and hunger around practice last night was very high," Buttler told the media here ahead of England's training session at the iconic Wankhede Stadium here.
England brought its talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes out of retirement for its World Cup defence, but he has missed all three matches so far due to fitness issues. Stokes trained here on Thursday and also on Friday and it has raised hopes of Stokes finally getting his first game of this year's World Cup, but Buttler remained non-committal.
"I've got so many options within the squad selection, it is always tough, and you're working out the right balance, always venue-dependent as well, so (it has) been a good chance to see the wicket here today and gather a bit more information as well," added Buttler. "But obviously, Ben trained really well last night. It is great to see him back. He obviously brings a lot on the field and with his presence and leadership skills as well as someone who is always good to turn to," added the wicketkeeper-batter.
Like England, South Africa too is coming off an upset at the hands of the Netherlands in its previous assignment, and the outcome did surprise Buttler, who said Proteas have a balanced all-round side. "Yeah, surprised. I think you are always surprised when those kind of things happen. No disrespect to the Netherlands. They played a fantastic game of cricket and deserved to win it. You always have to give credit to the opposition in that instance, Buttler said.
One of the best batters in the Indian Premier League, Buttler has got runs at the top in the competition but is manning the middle-order in the England line-up. Buttler insisted that he has no plans to open for England.
"No, none at all. We have got some fantastic openers in our team. It is certainly a ground I have enjoyed playing at before. I started my IPL journey here with Mumbai as well, so it is always a place with fond memories. I think it is a fantastic cricket ground, and looking forward to playing here," he concluded.
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