ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | England well prepared but Australia favourite, says Jos Buttler

"I think history tells you that generally the host nations are slight favourites in big tournaments"

October 15, 2022 04:45 pm | Updated 04:45 pm IST - MELBOURNE

Australian captain Aaron Finch clicks a selfie with captains of all the participating nations in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup on October 15, 2022. Photo: Twitter/@ICC

Australian captain Aaron Finch clicks a selfie with captains of all the participating nations in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup on October 15, 2022. Photo: Twitter/@ICC

England captain Jos Buttler is happy with his team's preparation but tipped champions Australia as the favourites to win the Twenty20 World Cup on home soil, in comments to the media on Saturday.

England prevailed in a seven-match Twenty20 series in Pakistan before flying to Australia where they beat their hosts and reigning world champions twice but were prevented from posting a 3-0 series sweep by rain.

Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | India hoping for fortune reversal in mega event

Buttler smashed 65 not out in the third match, his second fifty in three innings since returning from a calf injury, before the match got washed out on Friday.

"I think history tells you that generally the host nations are slight favourites in big tournaments," the opener said in a pre-tournament media conference.

"Lots of people have played in Australia in those conditions but of course no one is going to know the conditions or be as accustomed to them as the Australian team and the reigning champions as well.

England topped the Super12 group stage in last year's tournament, ahead of Australia, but were knocked out by New Zealand in the semi-finals.

Buttler said the format was unpredictable and the competition fierce.

"In T20 cricket, one person can take the game away from you," said Buttler, a proven match-winner himself.

"We've had good preparation. We look forward to this tournament and don't try and read too much into past tournaments or things.

"We try and learn and get better and improve every day, and look forward to starting this competition in the next week."

Former champions England begin their bid for a second 20-overs World Cup title with a match against Afghanistan in Perth on Oct. 22.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.