England captain Jos Buttler has promised a thorough review after his team’s up-and-down T20 World Cup, which ended in a heavy semi-final defeat to India.
England beat the same opponents by 10 wickets at the same stage in Adelaide when they won the tournament in 2022, but this time the tables have been turned.
Batting in a difficult situation, chasing 172 runs, Buttler’s team was restricted to 103, losing by 68 runs and leaving the Caribbean with a bitter defeat.
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England were chasing 172 against India when Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Jonny Bairstow were all run out in quick succession.
Their effort in this tournament is at least an improvement over their dismal defence of the 50-over title at last year’s World Cup, in which they lost six of their nine matches, but there are still questions to be answered.
England dominated against associate members Oman, Namibia and the United States but struggled against more established rivals, losing to Australia, South Africa and India throughout the tournament.
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Highlights from the T20 World Cup semi-final between India and England in Guyana.
“We will certainly review everything and have a plan in place,” Butler told reporters after the team’s World Cup exit.
“If it’s the way we play, the personnel and the style of cricket then we need to re-examine what we need to improve as a team.”
“After a loss like that you need a little bit of space to accept it, process it and then you can reflect on not only this game but the past few months.”
“I think there’s a lot of talent in English football and it’s up to us as the England team and as a country to harness that talent, develop it and make sure we continue to be a good team in the future. There’s some time between today and our next game so we’ll see what happens.”
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England lost their eighth wicket when a miscommunication between Liam Livingstone and Jofra Archer resulted in a confused run-out, capping a disastrous innings.
In the short term, Butler plans to return home to spend time with his family, particularly his third child, who was born just before the tournament.
“To be honest, I’m just looking forward to some time away from the game,” he added.
“I could sit here and get emotional after the loss, but there’s no need to go too deep into that right now.
“It’s an achievement to get to the semi-finals but we wanted to go all the way and that’s what we came here for. We played well enough to get to this stage but unfortunately we fell short.”
Stokes: Reaching the semi-finals is no easy task
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Ben Stokes believes England should be proud of reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after their defeat to India.
England Test captain Ben Stokes has praised England’s efforts in the T20 World Cup, saying they have progressed since the last 50-over white-ball tournament in India last year.
“Heartbreaking for Joss [Buttler] and [Matthew] Mott didn’t do that because it was a semi-final,” Stokes said. Sky Sports News.
“They have once again reached the semi-finals of the tournament, which is never easy. There have been some really good teams but you have to give credit to India and the way they played in the big game.”
“It’s going to be a fantastic final, two very good teams playing some great cricket.
“It’s very disappointing for the team but they can come back from the West Indies with their heads held high, knowing they gave everything they had for India in the semi-final. The result didn’t go their way but the team is improving and that’s all you can hope for.”
“Getting to the World T20 semi-final is definitely part of progress, especially after the last World Cup in India.”
On how England will deal with the criticism, Stokes said: “It’s entirely personal. People say don’t read it, don’t pay attention to it but in this day and age with social media and the media, that’s not possible. Criticism is everywhere, you see it but different people deal with it differently.”
“I’m pretty good at it. It gets frustrating sometimes, but I just try my best. Not everyone is like that and it’s hard when you’re under scrutiny. You have to find a way to deal with it as an individual. It’s something I’ve gotten better at over the last five years. It’s hard.”
“I think what we have to do as players is understand that people really want us to do well, but sometimes the unfair comments do bother us, and that’s okay.”
You can watch the T20 World Cup Final in Barbados live on Sky Sports Cricket from 3pm on Saturday (first ball at 3.30pm).