Don't feel like defending champions, we are on same boat as others: Jos Buttler

Ahmedabad: Four years is a long time and skipper Jos Buttler believes that afterglow of winning the 2019 World Cup is long gone as his team is on the same boat as nine others ahead of the opener against New Zealand, starting Thursday.

At the ICC’s Captain’s Day event here, leaders of all 10 teams sat together for a chat ahead of the 48-game tournament to be played across 10 venues over the next 45 days, touching upon points such as pressure of expectations, their strengths and what they have learnt from the past editions.

“I don’t see us as defending champions. We’re very much in the same boat now as everybody sat here on the eve of the tournament trying to win it,” said England skipper Buttler.

“We feel ready. We’re very excited. We all know India is such a fantastic place to play cricket and we’re really excited about the tournament starting tomorrow,” he added.

His opposite number, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who will miss the tournament-opener, feels that teams have gone through changes over the course of last four years.

“Like Jos mentioned, you sort of come to another event and everybody certainly starts from the same position and starts again,” he said.

“You go from tournament to tournament, teams change, opposition, conditions, so you know for us it’s very much focusing on the style of cricket that we want to keep committing to and give us the best chance of putting out our best performance,” Williamson said.

Cummins wants to make it six for Australia

Australia’s Pat Cummins hoped that his side would be able to replicate performances of the champion teams from the past.

“Yeah, I can’t take too much credit for many (tournament wins) of them. There’s a couple of the boys that were there in 2015, which obviously gives us confidence,” he replied when asked about Australia’s successful record in World Cup history.

“We had a really strong year in the early 2000s. I think one-day cricket is a format that’s really suited Australian teams of the past,” he said.
The teams led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting had all bases covered.

“Not only taking the game on with the batting and having some good quick bowlers, but even in the field, that early kind of 2000s era, I grew up watching. Yeah, they were amazing, really athletic. So hopefully we can carry it on. It’s a pretty good history we’ve had in World Cups. So hopefully another one,” Cummins added.

IPL experience comes in handy, feels Bavuma

South Africa’s Temba Bavuma said the experience of playing in the IPL is relevant to all countries.

“I think that’s something that’s relevant to all the teams. A lot of the teams have guys who play in India, who’ve done well in India. So, I wouldn’t really say it’s an advantage for (just) us,” he said.

“(What) we can do is the guys who have that experience and knowledge, they can share it amongst the team or use it in terms of, you know, our strategies, our plans. But I wouldn’t really say it’s an advantage unique to us as a team,” he said.

Shanaka keen to make statement

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said his players are motivated to make a statement.

“It’s exciting times for us. We have been struggling a lot in the recent past with injuries but at the same time we have a good record,” he said.

“You know, as a group, we are looking forward to the World Cup and everyone wants to make a statement that we are there to perform well in this tournament,” Shanaka said.

Afghans to rely on Rashid and Noor

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said his team is strong in the spin department.
“Our main strength is in the spin department, but I believe we have worked very hard over the last couple of years,” he said.

Our fans expect a little more than previous editions, says Shakib

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan cited his team’s strong performance in the points system. “We prepared well. If we talk about the last four years since the 2019 World Cup, we are probably the third or fourth team in the qualifiers point system. So, we have done really well as a group,” he said.

“Now it’s time for us to put on a good show in this World Cup and I think our team is ready and also the country is expecting a little more than what we did previously,” Shakib added.

The Netherlands’ Scott Edwards said his boys were motivated to bring their good performance from the Qualifiers into the main tournament.

“It’s obviously a pretty tricky tournament, the Qualifiers especially, so really proud of how the boys went about that. We take a lot of confidence in the way we played there and, you know, hopefully bring that into this tournament,” Edwards said.