"Virtually everything they needed ticking for the challenges ahead, they've got out of this evening"; Nasser Hussain believes England will take "great satisfaction" from the manner of their win over Sri Lanka and praised Eoin Morgan's captaincy under pressure
Thursday 4 November 2021 15:02, UK
England's victory over Sri Lanka was ideal preparation for the challenges they may face later in the T20 World Cup, according to Nasser Hussain.
Jos Buttler scored a superb unbeaten century, his first in T20 internationals, as Eoin Morgan's side recovered from 47-3 halfway through their innings to post 163-4 and go on to secure a 26-run win at Sharjah.
While Buttler's was the clear standout performance, Hussain was keen to praise Morgan's captaincy as England were forced to defend a total for the first time at the tournament after losing the toss.
"Not so much for this game but for the challenges they may face ahead, I was pleased as an England "fan", if you like, that they had lost that toss because they were going to have to do it a different way at some stage," he told Sky Sports.
"They're going to have to get used to dew, they're going to have to get used to defending a target. They lose a bowler and luckily, they've got six bowlers that all give them something. [Liam] Livingstone has now bowled out twice in the last two games so he is a proper sixth bowler.
"What was the other box they wanted ticked? Eoin Morgan getting in some nick and getting runs, I don't think anyone doubted he would do that so virtually everything they needed ticking for the challenges ahead, they've got out of this evening.
"In that dressing room that gives you great satisfaction, they can enjoy their four days off now."
After being dealt the tougher of the batting conditions and having to cope with a wet ball in the field, England's task was made that much more difficult when left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills pulled up midway through his second over and left the field clutching his thigh.
Morgan opted to let Chris Woakes finish the over, meaning he would not be able to bowl his full four overs, and spinners Moeen Ali and Livingstone would be required to more bowl more overs than they might have expected.
"I thought it was a brave thing because you probably want Woakes to bowl out his full quota, which meant you'd have to bowl one from Moeen Ali," said Hussain.
"With two right-handers in and a very short boundary, that is a gamble and they saved him right until the 19th and Eoin was brilliant with his field placement, he had a long off, long on and Jason Roy right behind Moeen Ali because he knew where they were going to hit.
"He told Moeen Ali to bowl it into the pitch and he smacked it through to Jason Roy.
"I thought Eoin got absolutely everything right and you sense that. Something hits it and you think 'that's a four or a six' and there's a fielder there, hits it again, there's another fielder there. Everything they did was spot on in those last 15 or 20 minutes."
England's win was a rare occurrence of a team batting first coming out on top in this tournament and Hussain believes it was important in proving that the toss is not an overriding factor in determining the result.
"For the tournament today, I thought it was a good result because it is proof that if you've got a quality side and you do lose the toss and you are asked to bat, that you can win the game later on in the evening, even with a wet ball," the former England captain added.
"It's not ideal and the toss is still vital and whoever is in that final will think 'please, please, please can we win the toss' and it will go a long way towards winning the game but today showed it is not the be all and end all, a good side and a good captain can overcome it."
Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky between now and November 14.
