'He's a powerhouse’: Harry Brook backs Jos Buttler to shine despite lean run

NEW DELHI: Jos Buttler may still be hunting for rhythm, but it is not ringing alarm bells for England captain Harry Brook, who labelled him a "powerhouse" and expressed confidence that the former skipper will peak at the right time in the business end of the T20 World Cup.

The 2022 T20 World Cup-winning captain endured another lean outing, falling for 7 — his third single-digit score of the tournament — during England’s Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Buttler’s best score so far has been 26 against Nepal, and he has not reached a fifty since his 83 against South Africa in September last year.

"Not concerned, he's a powerhouse, arguably our best white-ball player ever, lacking a bit of confidence at the moment but I'd rather see him start like this and finish with a flourish," Brook said at the presentation after England sealed a 51-run win over Sri Lanka.

Birthday boost and spin gamble

The co-hosts had restricted England to a modest 146/9 before being bundled out for 95, their lowest total of the tournament. For Brook, who turned 27, it doubled up as a memorable birthday.

"Beautiful birthday present, an awesome effort to get over the line and bowl them out for 100 (95)."

England’s familiarity with local conditions also proved useful, having toured Sri Lanka prior to the T20 World Cup, sweeping the T20Is 3-0 and clinching the ODIs 2-1.

"We've played a lot here and we knew that (spin) would play a part. He (Will Jacks) was annoyed with how he got out and he said he bowls better when he's angry. Don't need to vary lines, more about pace. We got reward for that with caught-and-bowled, and a few caught on the boundary.

"Perfect adaptation to circumstances. Feel like we can play on any surface.

"Don't think there were any demons, spinners on both sides used the pace really well, lack of pace was creating chances. We had a chat and adapted really well," Brook said about the pitch.

Brook’s call to throw the new ball to part-time off-spinner Will Jacks turned out to be a masterstroke. Jacks returned figures of 3/22, including two wickets in two balls, as Sri Lanka slumped to 34/5 inside the Powerplay.

The hosts never managed to recover and were eventually bowled out for 95 in 16.4 overs.

Batting concerns and belief

Reflecting on England’s batting effort, Brook admitted the surface was not easy for stroke-making.

"It was slow, hard to time, Salty played exceptionally to get 60, with everyone playing around him. Not the fluent Phil Salt we are used to but he got us to a score.

"Jos hasn't fired yet, but if we get on a good wicket he's going to get a hundred. Phil Salt, too. Once we figure the powerplay out and get on top with the bat, we're going to be a hard team to beat."

England now sit atop Group 2 and will next take on Pakistan and New Zealand in their remaining Super Eights fixtures.

Shanaka reflects on missed chances

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are at the bottom of the standings and face a challenging path ahead with games against New Zealand and Pakistan.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka, however, chose to highlight the positives, pointing out that his bowlers kept England below par.

"Clearly, it's very disappointing, but at the same time, we had a lot of positives in the ball. So I think we kept them towards a total which was at least 20 runs under par.

"It's the one bad game. The top four have done really well in the recent past, so I'm pretty sure that they will do well in the upcoming games.

"I expected my players to bat well. A combination of all the things (on the reasons for the low-scoring contest). I think the pitch played well. Certainly, it was a bit slow in the first innings, but with the lights on, it settled a bit. We played badly."

Shanaka top-scored with 30 off 24 balls, while the rest of the batting line-up failed to make a mark.

"The discussion was to take it deep (during the chase). We have played a lot of cricket in this sort of conditions, it was about taking it deep and taking the positive options and the right options, which we didn't take.

"So eventually it's one bad game which is not affordable in a World Cup, but we need to bounce back in the next couple of games," said Shanaka.

(With PTI Inputs)