8 November - Pune - England Captain Jos Buttler post-match press conference
[Reporter:]
How pleased and relieved are you to end that sequence of results and get back to celebrating a win?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, really pleased. It's been a frustrating time, not winning the games of cricket or playing as well as we'd like, so yeah, delighted with the win today. I thought Malan got us off to a great start and then the partnership from Stokes and Woakes was brilliant to get us up to a really good score.
[Reporter:]
Was that, when Ben came back into the squad it was to turn up at moments that counted and the Champions Trophy was in the balance perhaps and Ben was the man who stood up and was counted. Is that the reason why you were happy to have him back on the show?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yes, absolutely. He wants the moments of getting us into semi-finals and trying to win finals as well. But anytime you need someone to stand up and the team's under pressure, he's had a history of always doing that for whoever he's playing for. So, yeah, we're very lucky to have him in the team. And I thought his innings today was exceptional.
[Reporter:]
And there was some suggestion that maybe he should be getting away from this competition and getting his operation done early with an eye on the Test series. I don't know if you broached that conversation with him or what, but it doesn't seem like his style?
[Jos Buttler:]
No, it's not his style at all. He's here to play in the World Cup. He wants to be here and they say it's important for us to try and qualify for that Champions Trophy and he wants to make sure we try and achieve that.
[Reporter:]
I think, Ben Stokes have played with the fine century, a well-timed century. How do you feel about Stokes' century? Because it is very vital for your team to beat the Netherlands to get points. And now I think you are moved to seventh place in the points table.
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, it's a vital inning. He managed lots of different situations throughout it really, really well. And his partnership with Chris Woakes was brilliant to get us up to a really good score. And we took that momentum into the bowling innings. I thought Woakes and Willey started really well.
[Reporter:]
What for you was probably the highlight of that performance? Was it just the win itself or the fact that there was a little wobble, I think, when yourself and Mo went? And actually, the way things have gone this tournament maybe start thinking the worst but to then come back and be dominant again.
[Jos Buttler:]
I think the start is always pleasing - I thought Malan played really well at the top and got us away and yeah absolutely for that partnership between Stokes and Woakes at a really crucial time for us, two guys who've performed really, really well put together a brilliant partnership and they just they managed it really well. They were very smart they took good options when it was on and yeah to end up with that score from the position we were in when we lost those wickets in the middle there, I thought it was a great effort.
[Reporter:]
I know this is not where you wanted to be at this stage, but just by the virtue of stopping five in a row and all the things going on in your head and all the rest of it that you've been doing, just what does a victory mean?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, it's great. It's not enjoyable losing games of cricket. So yeah, any game you play. I'm competitive, I want to win, whether it's a game of cards or a game of cricket.
So yeah, it's nice to end that sequence and we go to Kolkata. Not playing for what we wanted to be playing for, but a really vital match for us in the grand scheme of things. It's great to be heading there with something on the line.
[Reporter:]
Just a disclaimer first. Ben Stokes can score a century anywhere in the world, but here I'm asking because he's familiar with Pune ground, Pune conditions, Pune pitch as well, which is somewhat, the commentators Nasser Hussain and Ravi Shastri were also constantly saying he knows the pitch very well and stadium. Do you think the familiarity factor has helped his century today?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, potentially. I think his first IPL he got a 100 here, didn't he? And a few years ago, he was out on 99 in an ODI here as well. So yes, obviously a ground he likes playing at and that's great for us today.
[Reporter:]
There's been a lot of head scratching and you've been asked, Matthew's been asked, everyone's been asked about what's been going wrong and what's been the reason for this World Cup, the way it's gone.
Is there anything that you can put your finger on that helped things go right or has it just been completely the same before this match as it has before every other match? Is there anything you can harness from this that you can take into the last game in Kolkata?
[Jos Buttler:]
I think everyone's been frustrated, but the guys have stayed tight, everyone's stayed really close and kept working hard. I think if you watched training yesterday, the guys probably trained as hard as they trained all trip, which shows the level of commitment and desire to put things right, don't get to the level of player that we've got in the squad without having that personal pride and work ethic and determination to put things right when they're not going the way you want.
I guess we just hung in there and trusted ourselves and put trust in the guys that at some point the wheel will turn. Keep trying to deliver the same messages and play committed to the style we want to.
As I say, we got off to a really good start today, but it's something that's been a hallmark of the team. So that was crucial. And then handling pressure and coming out the other way, which Stokes and Woakes did brilliantly well in that partnership. So, there are things we haven't done consistently enough throughout the tournament. But at some point, top players will get it right.
[Reporter:]
You mentioned training and the level of intensity, was there a change before this match? Realising that this was pretty much last chance?
[Jos Buttler:]
No, I don't think so. Everyone's been working hard for the whole trip. But, yeah, like I say, it would be easy for us to tail off. Or If guys weren't as committed, you wouldn't get that level of training, even when things haven't gone well.
Credit to everyone for still putting in and showing how much it means to play for England and the pride in our performance. And of course, the Champions Trophy is something we're very focused on and determined to make sure we’re there.
[Reporter:]
You know better than most that cricket never stops. Is it your intention to play in both legs of the Caribbean tour in December? And also, is it your intention to captain the side in both legs of the Caribbean tour in December?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, I'd like to. I know Rob Key arrives into India today, I think. So, yeah, we can have some good conversations with him and the coach and everyone and make a plan for that tour. But yeah, I'd like to.
[Reporter:]
You said it's not Ben's style to go home early. Did you have to have a conversation with him at any point? Did you ask him, like, does he want to go home and sort it?
[Jos Buttler:]
No, no, we haven't had any conversation and like I said, it's not Ben’s style. I say he's committed; he wants to play and he wants to put in performances, which like you saw tonight.
[Reporter:]
How important is it that you guys finish with a win on Saturday against Pakistan, not just for Champions Trophy qualification, but I guess for leaving with something you can build on for the future?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, vital. It's a huge game for us. We haven't performed the way we wanted to this whole trip, and we'd like to leave India putting in a proper performance. So, yeah, it's a huge game for us.
[Reporter:]
Just on your batting, is there still, well, a smaller sense of frustration still today, even after winning?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, of course. No, you want to lead from the front and do that in your own performance. So, yeah, very frustrated, again, not to contribute, but I'll stick to the stuff that's served me well over a long period of time when I've had these little runs of form and, like I say, hopefully come out the other side of it very soon.
[Reporter:]
Do you think this effort would be enough against Pakistan? You had a slip-up in between while batting. Do you think a similar performance would be good enough against Pakistan?
[Jos Buttler:]
Yeah, they’re a top team. We look forward to a really good game against them and it will start again. But yeah, we can take confidence from the stuff we've done well today.
