SAINT VINCENT: England have won the toss and elected to bowl first against the United States of America (USA) in a must-win Super Eights fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Arnos Vale Ground on Sunday.
PLAYING XIs
USA: Steven Taylor, Andries Gous (wk), Nitish Kumar, Aaron Jones (c), Corey Anderson, Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjinge, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.
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Speaking at the toss, England captain Jos Buttler shared that the tacky nature of the surface was a big reason behind his decision to field first.
He further acknowledged the USA for playing “fantastic” cricket throughout the tournament before sharing his excitement to compete against the side for the first time.
“Early morning start, a bit tacky, that’s the reason,” Buttler on his decision to bowl first.
“Getting ready for the business end, a quick turnaround but everyone’s excited. Bring out full intensity today. Tough game, USA have played some fantastic cricket throughout the tournament but excited for first game against them,” he added.
USA’s captain Aaron Jones shared that he would have bowled first too but vowed to go hard against the defending champions.
“I wanted to bowl first to be honest, but it’ll be a good wicket and we’re going to go hard for sure. Let’s see how we come up. We need to be more disciplined, but we had a few meetings [after WI game]. Looking forward to facing Jofra,” Jones said.
FORM GUIDE
The USA, who impressed with their skillset in the group stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, have been far from their best in the Super Eights as they have suffered two defeats.
On the other hand, England, who scripted a triumphant start to the Super Eights with West Indies thrashing succumbed to a gut-wrenching defeat against South Africa in their previous fixture.
USA: L, L, NR, L, W
England: L, W, W, W, L
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