England skipper Jos Buttler wants England battle-hardened from Pakistan tour

15 September,2022 05:52 PM IST |  Karachi  |  AFP

England skipper Jos Buttler said Thursday he hopes his injury-hit T20 side embrace the challenge of facing a strong Pakistan team on their first tour of the country in 17 years.

England`s T20 cricket team captain Jos Buttler speaks during a press conference in Karachi on September 15, 2022. Photo/AFP


England skipper Jos Buttler said Thursday he hopes his injury-hit T20 side embrace the challenge of facing a strong Pakistan team on their first tour of the country in 17 years. Security issues have meant Pakistan has struggled to attract visiting sides since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009, but tours have slowly resumed in the past few years -- with England the latest. This seven-match series is seen as a preparation for next month's T20 World Cup 2022 to be held in Australia, and Buttler hoped his young side build up well for the mega event.

"We look forward to the tough challenge and to be battle-hardened for the T20 World Cup 2022 after this series," said Buttler, who will miss the first few games to recover fully from a calf injury. Two of England's T20 World Cup 2022 squad members -- Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan -- are also missing this series as they recover from ankle and finger injuries respectively, while Test skipper Ben Stokes was given a rest.

Also Read: Watch: Virat Kohli recalls childhood memories with cool street-cricket slangs

Buttler said he hoped the injuries would give an opportunity to other players hungry to show their talent. "Obviously the main aim for everyone is to turn up for Australia fully ready," said Buttler of the T20 World Cup 2022 event to be held from October 16 to November 13. He said seven of his squad -- David Willey, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Harry Brook, Luke Wood and Ben Duckett -- had featured in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) this year and would know local conditions.

"Plenty of our players featured in the PSL and shared the positive experiences of being here and about how much the public love the game," said Buttler. "We know Pakistan are a very great side. We look forward to challenge ourselves against them and I expect to see some great cricket."

The England skipper also hoped his side would perform well to honour Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week. "Obviously, with her majesty the queen passing, we were deeply saddened by that. We have seen the reactions over in England. "We hope to honour her in our own way as a T20 team and play in a fashion to do that." The first four matches will be in Karachi on September 20, 22, 23 and 25, and the next three in Lahore on September 28, 30 and October 2.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
jos buttler england sports news cricket news
Related Stories