Jos Buttler expressed his disappointment after England’s humiliating loss to South Africa, stating that reaching the semi-finals now seems incredibly tough. The World Cup 2023 journey for the reigning champions, England, has been far from impressive so far. After losing three out of the first seven matches in the Super 12 stage, the English team currently sits in the 9th position in the points table.
After their disappointing loss to South Africa, where they conceded a staggering 229 runs, Jos Buttler mentioned, “This is a loss that will be hard to digest. We were disappointed after the Afghanistan game, and we hoped for things to turn around today. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.” Buttler continued, “Reaching the semi-finals now seems incredibly tough, but we won’t give up. We’ll keep our hopes alive. It’s undoubtedly a challenging situation right now, and there’s no room for error. It’s incredibly tough, but with unity, we will bounce back.”
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England had chosen to bowl first at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and struggled to contain South Africa, who managed to put up 399 runs on the board. Henrich Klaasen led the charge with an explosive inning of 109 runs off 67 balls, while Markram contributed with 75 runs. Earlier, Reeza Hendricks and Van der Dussen played brilliantly with scores of 85 and 60 runs, respectively. Reece Topley was the most successful bowler for England, claiming three wickets.
England’s chase of a massive target didn’t start well as they lost wickets at regular intervals. The defending champions were losing wickets rapidly when they reached the 100-run mark. Eventually, Mark Wood scored 43 runs off 17 balls, and Chris Woakes contributed 35 runs, taking the team’s score to 170. England had to face a daunting challenge, chasing 229 runs in this match.
In the end, South Africa registered a comfortable victory, defending their massive total by bowling England out for 170. This loss has put England in a tough spot in the World Cup 2023 tournament, and they will need a miraculous turnaround to qualify for the semi-finals.