Jos Buttler and Temba Bavuma pre-match press conference England vs South Africa, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023

England Captain Jos Buttler and South Africa Captain Temba Bavuma pre-match press conference England vs South Africa, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

England Captain Jos Buttler 

England Captain Jos Buttler pre-match press conference transcript

 [Reporter:] Quite a long break since the game. Are you guys kind of hungry and eager to get back out on the pitch and put whatever right from last time?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, obviously, we had a few days to let the defeat sink in and moved on and focused, we had some good conversations and the energy and hunger around practice last night was very high.

 

[Reporter:] Do you expect this game to have quite a bit of energy to it? Because South Africa, following your result, had a similar kind of setback of their own and I guess what we're going to find is two teams with quite a lot to play for.

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, absolutely I'm sure it'll be a fantastic contest I think a lot of time as well I always say we look at the opposition but a lot of focus on ourselves. And we've had some good conversations about how we want to play our cricket, how we want to commit to the style that we play. And that's always more important than the results. We put ourselves out there, we compete, the opposition want to win games of cricket as well. So, we know we won't always win. But if we can stick to the way that we like to play our cricket and get to the best version of that, we know that that's the best chance that we have of getting the positive results.

 

[Reporter:] And obviously Ben has been right back into it now and looks as far as we're aware ready to go which is good news for the team but it maybe gives you a few ponderers in terms of how to balance up that team how tricky has it been working that part out?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, I think I've got so many options within the squad selection it is always tough and you're working out the right balance, always venue dependent as well so been a good chance to see the wicket here today and gather a bit more information as well. But obviously Ben trained really well last night. It's great to see him back. He obviously brings a lot on the field and with his presence and leadership skills as well as someone who is always good to turn to.

So, he adds a lot of value.

 

[Reporter:] And just compared to the venues you've been to, obviously you've been around the IPL traps a lot of times. Is this a good venue for England, somewhere where you really feel like you can dictate terms, and play your game?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, absolutely. I think this is one of the great grounds in India. I love playing cricket here. I think it's a fantastic cricket wicket. So yeah, absolutely, it should suit us.

 

[Reporter:] It was a little while ago now, but there was a great game here between the same teams in the T20 World Cup in 2016. Just wanted to ask your memories of that and when you were talking about the fearless style that England play, presumably that night, albeit in a different format, was a good example of what you've been talking about.

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, absolutely, fantastic game. One of my favourite games that I think had a lot of value in terms of where we were going as a team and the direction we wanted to play. So great memories of that night, albeit a long time ago. And absolutely, that style is a different format. We want to find ways to make a play, to put the opposition under pressure in lots of different ways. That doesn't always mean hitting fours and sixes, it means can we push back when the opposition is on top or can we really take the initiative in different ways and that's what we want to live by as a team. We know when we commit to that that gives us the best chance of positive results as I said earlier.

 

[Reporter:] You talk in very kind of glowing terms about Chris Woakes in the aftermath of defeat, obviously a guy who's played a big part in English White ball success in particular, but maybe struggling for a little bit of form. How have those kind of conversations gone this weekend? And what are the kind of skills and characteristics of someone like him that gives you the faith to perhaps go again this week?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, obviously history - he's been a fantastic performer for an incredibly long time for England in all the formats and especially in one day cricket. And we're all honest guys, right? We're all honest professionals who hold each other to high standards and individually expect a lot of ourselves and he knows he's not performing quite how he would like to at the minute and that's frustrating but there's no judgment from our side we always back all our players that are in our team - we picked them for a number of reasons and one because they're high-class players and he's certainly one of those.

 

[Reporter:] When you look at South Africa, what do you see as their particular strengths as a team?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, I think they've been they've been playing some really good cricket I think obviously the top six is a very strong top six and I think pace with the ball is one of their strengths. It's something I think both teams like as well. We have pace in both attacks and both teams like pace on the ball so as well it should be a really fascinating contest. They're a really good team. You always expect tough challenge when you play against South Africa and it's going to be a brilliant game.

 

[Reporter:] Based on that, how surprised were you then by their defeat last time out?

 

[Jos Buttler:] Yeah, surprised. I think you're always surprised when those kind of things happen. No disrespect to the Netherlands. They played a fantastic game of cricket and deserved to win it. So, I think you always have to give credit to the opposition in that instance. The bookies' favourites, I'm sure, would have been South Africa on the day. But that's why sport is fantastic. It throws up these upsets. And everyone's on the same field trying to compete and win the game and you have to give credit to the opposition.

 

[Reporter:] It felt like in Delhi you read a bit too much into the way the pitch had played in previous games. I expected it to be similar and got punished maybe as a result. Obviously, that's not an issue here. Would you have liked to have that kind of guidance here or to give you maybe more clarity that it's a fresh start?

 

[Jos Buttler:] I think trying to read conditions and get a handle on what may or may not happen is always something you're trying to do as a team and as an individual and get a read on how it might play. But always the skill is to react on the day, absolutely. You can go in with preconceived ideas and it's not sort of committing to them fully. You've got to communicate well as a team, understand as an individual how the pitch is playing, what the conditions are like. They're all parts of the game that are vitally important.

So, you try and gather as much information as you can before and history is history and it's about the game in front of you.

 

[Reporter:] About the last matches, you mentioned South Africa's defeat as a surprise, but if you look at your result as well as South Africa's, would you dismiss it as one of those freak results at a World Cup, or were you able to identify any particular reason or reasons why at least England lost?

 

[Jos Buttler:] No, we've very much moved on and we're fully focused on the game tomorrow night. We can't change what happened in the previous game. We trained really well yesterday; we train well again today and there's a lot of excitement for the game tomorrow.

 

[Reporter:] You have scored nearly 900 runs on this ground in the IPL and international cricket, most of the runs as an opener. So, any thoughts of you moving back to the opening position?

 

[Jos Buttler:] No, none at all. We've got some fantastic openers in our team. It's certainly a ground I've enjoyed playing at before. I started my IPL journey here with Mumbai as well, so it's always a place with fond memories. I think it's a fantastic cricket ground and looking forward to playing here tomorrow.

South Africa Captain Temba Bavuma 

South Africa Captain Temba Bavuma pre-match press conference transcript

[Reporter:] You said after the Netherlands game that you needed to allow the hurt to seep in. How has the “seepage” process progressed in the last few days?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] I do think it's progressed. We've had hard conversations as a team, obviously looking at our performances and where things went bad for us from a batting, bowling, even from a fielding point of view. We've put that behind us. We’ve obviously got the challenge of England starting and we are, I guess preparing to get ourselves in the right mental state, physically as well, to play our best cricket there.

 

[Reporter:] Just to follow on from that, what did you guys do in the days, I mean it hasn't been many days, but in the time that you've had since the Dutch game.

 

[Temba Bavuma:] What did we do? We got to Mumbai, explored a little bit of Mumbai. We have obviously spoken about the game from a skills department point of view, what exactly that we need to do to get better. I think we also acknowledge the fact that in the last couple of months, we've played a lot of good cricket. So, I think it's not to overlook that and allow one “blip”, I would say, in our game to override everything that we've done and still keep the confidence in everything that we are doing. I think it's easy to second-guess yourselves, second-guess your processes and your game, so it's not to forget all the good work that we've done.

 

[Reporter:] Does the fact that England are coming into this game on the back of a surprise loss as well, do you feel that you're sort of starting level - that neither side's got that much of an advantage in that sense?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] You could probably say so. I think both teams will obviously be looking to eradicate that, to deal with whatever issues that they had. I think both teams will be looking to play their best cri cket and I think it could be one hell of a game if you've got two teams of this calibre who play close to their best. Obviously, our aim is to stop England from playing close to their best and hopefully the result is in our favour this game.

 

[Reporter:] I think it's acknowledged that South Africa have one of the better batting lineups at this tournament, but we saw what happened against the Dutch, the seamers came unstuck in the last part of the innings. How do you come back from that? What did the seamers do to not have that happen again?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] Yeah, I think, like you say - I think the first 30 overs, 35 overs, we were very good as a team. We got them to 140 for 7, if I'm not mistaken. And then that's where things kind of - I guess, the wheels fell off. I think we were put under pressure in the death period. And I think how we've bowled within the death hasn't been at our best. And I guess that's kind of been masked by how well we've bowled in the power play as well as the middle overs.

So, I guess it's just more the mental side of it in those periods, how we're able to still keep that clarity and calmness in what we're doing in those periods. Also, to understand that we're going to get put under pressure in the death again. It's not going to be maybe Netherlands in the play-off games if we get there, but there will be a team that will put us under pressure, so how do we react differently within that period.

And then I think from a batting point of view, probably our biggest misdemeanour as the batters is that we took that negative energy from the field, that momentum that the Netherlands guys had achieved at the end of their innings. We took that into their batting and like I said, there were no partnerships that we were able to put together. And that's been a strength of ours as a team. We don't boast the longest batting lineup, the guys who are at the top, it's important that we set that foundation. That foundation wasn't there. And it became even more of a bigger task for our middle order batter.

So, I think there's specific areas that we've identified that we want to be better at, and that's what we'll be focusing on coming this next game.

 

[Reporter:] What do you know about this ground and how do you expect it to play and how do you guys adjust to what you expect?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] Yeah, I think for me, growing up, idolizing a guy like Sachin Tendulkar, Wankhede was a stadium you always heard about. So, to have that opportunity to be playing, that's another tick off my list as a cricketer.

The guys that have played here, JP Duminy, Quinton, they've spoken about how it can be a batter’s paradise. You get value for your shots and the ball seems to travel further.

So, I think as batters it can build a lot of confidence. And if it is your day, you can fill your boots. And I guess just the atmosphere of it all, it being a full ground, it can really be something to enjoy.

I think our real assessment will happen on the day. We'll see what's happening there, and then try to put our best foot forward.

 

[Reporter:] Both you and England are coming off defeats against Minnows if I may call them that.

So do you think the non-India matches turnout has been very low. You think you guys can excite the crowds of Mumbai which are actually cricket fans

 

[Temba Bavuma:] I'd love to think so. I think if I was a cricket fan, I'd want to be watching South Africa versus England. I think it will be a tightly contested game. It'll be an exciting game. Both teams, I guess, will be looking to prove themselves, if I could say that. There'll be individuals in both camps who are wanting to put their hand up for the team. So, if I was a fan, I'd definitely want to come and watch.

 

[Reporter:] Netherlands adopted a very specific plan of spin against the top order in the last game and they succeeded as well. So, do you think that's an area of concern and are you giving any special attention to it or do you think it's not something to worry about?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] Yeah, look it definitely surprised some of us, that tactic of theirs with the spin. Understanding that the wicket supposedly wasn't favourable towards spin.

With that being said, we had to adapt. Some of us were able to, some of us weren't able to adapt. We know England have also employed that, sometimes bowling the off-spinner at the top, so that's something that we're expecting, whether they go that route. But yeah, it did take some of us by surprise in terms of Netherlands' tactic to keep going longer with the spin and power play.

 

[Reporter:] With Ben Stokes likely to play tomorrow, does the make your task of winning the match tomorrow more difficult?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] Yeah, I think a fully fit Ben Stokes obviously does strengthen the England team. He is an X-Factor player. He is the guy that can change the course of the game. He's someone that we've covered in our preparation. We know we're going to have to be at the top of our game to get him unstuck. We have a lot of respect for him, Ben Stokes. We know what he can do, but we'll prepare for him as well as we can.

 

[Reporter:] It doesn't happen often that two sports sort of like converge, into like a global product this weekend. But there's a lot of excitement about Super Saturday in South Africa and probably in England a bit. Is that a sort of like a nice extra context to add to what is going to be a crucial battle as well for you guys?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] You could probably say so.

A lot of us love our rugby so we'll definitely be supporting the Springboks and I'm sure they'll be supporting us as well.

Do we play first or do they play first?

We play first so I guess the responsibility’s on us to get things going the right way and then obviously we'll be supporting the guys after game.

They actually sent us a message today in our meeting, I guess you know trying to encourage us with our game so yeah, I think as a fan for South Africa, even for England, you obviously will be glued on your screens. And I guess, again, for us as players, we have that responsibility to put smiles on our countrymen's faces, and make sure we go out and entertain, and bring back the win.

 

[Reporter:] Quinton De Kock has had a fantastic start to the World Cup and given that he has also played at this ground for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, how much hinges on his experience of the venue  given that some of the members in the squad might not be having the knowledge of conditions and the wicket, how it behaves?

 

[Temba Bavuma:] Yeah, his experience is immense. In our batting chat today, we basically listened to him. He gave the batting chat as to what the conditions are like, what to expect. I mean, for at least a player like myself, who's never played here, you feed off that type of information, that type of intel. And I think obviously with him having the good start, like you said, he'll be looking to build on that. And I'm sure if it's his day, if the conditions allow, I'm sure he'll take it with both hands.

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