After winning the first T20I by 8 runs, the English captain was asked the reason behind not appealing. The 32-year-old took no time to reply and added that he wants no beef with the Aussies at the moment. As the T20 World Cup will be played on the Australian soil and is set to begin in a week’s time, this might be a smart move from the skipper.
“I wasn’t sure what happened. They asked if I wanted to appeal, and I thought, ‘We’re here for a long time in Australia. It would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip,” Buttler explained after the match.
What a terrible excuse from Jos Buttler to not appeal: Venkatesh Prasad
Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad was unhappy with Buttler’s reason and expressed his anger on his Twitter handle. The 53-year-old didn’t hold back and questioned the importance of the Spirit of the Game in such a situation. He called the incident a pathetic one and even called Australia out for cheating.
“Pathetic , in one word this is Cheating, not in the spirit of the game and Obstructing the field and what a terrible excuse from Jos Buttler to not appeal. The sense of entitlement of these guys is unbelievable. Bullshitting about spirit of the game when there is no spirit,” the cricketer tweeted after the match.
The England team however will focus on the positives. Jos Buttler (68) and Alex Hales (84) gave England a blistering start in the match and based on that, the Three Lions put 208 on board after 20 overs. Their middle order failed to keep up with the momentum but it was a healthy score to defend which they eventually did.
Batting second, David Warner smashed 73 off 44 balls to give Australia a perfect start but no one in the middle order could take the game home. Despite suffering a defeat, Stoinis’ return to form after injury will be a massive boost for them going to the mega tournament.
