Buttler chases 'perfect game' against Afghanistan in Champions Trophy

NEW DELHI: England skipper Jos Buttler expressed confidence in his team on Tuesday despite their initial setback in the Champions Trophy, as they prepare to face Afghanistan.

Wednesday's match in Lahore has become crucial after the Group B fixture between Australia and South Africa was abandoned due to rain, with both teams receiving one point each.

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England's tournament began with a loss to Australia in their opening match at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, where they couldn't defend their total of 351-8.
Afghanistan suffered a heavy defeat against South Africa in their first encounter.

"Pretty much from the start of the tournament every game is a 'must win'," Buttler told reporters.

"We've got two games left to progress further. We have to win those games so that's a very clear situation for us to be in."

Despite the Australian batsmen's dominance over his pace attack, Buttler maintained his trust in his bowlers.

"We've got great confidence in those guys," said Buttler.

"Level of performance was good and as always there's little areas we want to improve and chase that perfect game."

The Australian innings saw Jofra Archer concede 82 runs in his 10 overs while Josh Inglis remained unbeaten on 120. Mark Wood gave away 75 runs, and Brydon Carse, now withdrawn from the tournament due to a toe injury, conceded 69 runs in seven overs.

"The debrief (to the quicks) was pretty easy, to be honest. We all felt that we did good things in places and probably just weren't quite consistent enough in a couple of areas.

"And also sometimes you've got to give credit to someone who plays an outstanding innings."

Buttler indicated the team has moved past the defeat and is concentrating on their next match.

"We've parked that now," he said. "We're looking forward to the game tomorrow. The guys have all prepared really well, we've turned up with a lot of positivity and trying to impart our style of playing."

Since leading England to the T20 World Cup victory in 2022, Buttler's captaincy record has been inconsistent.

Under his leadership, England won only three out of nine matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. They also failed to reach the final in last year's T20 World Cup and recently experienced a 3-0 ODI defeat in India before the Champions Trophy.

"At any time as a captain you want to perform and you want to perform well and you want to lead your team to winning games in cricket. We haven't been doing that enough in the recent past," said Buttler.

Following England's unexpected loss to Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup in New Delhi, Buttler acknowledged his respect for the opposition and their skilled spinners, including Rashid Khan.

However, he emphasised focusing on positive aspects. "As soon as you catch yourself thinking about any negative things, you just try and completely forget that and focus on all of the positive things that could go right and where you can take the team," he said.

The team will need to make at least one change for Wednesday's match following Carse's withdrawal, with leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed joining the squad as his replacement.

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