Jos Buttler reckons the T20 World Cup is so ruthless that England will have to win every game to be sure of success.
It makes a fast start against Afghanistan in their opener a must on a ground in Perth they enjoyed playing at two weeks ago in a win over Australia. With five group games to be played in the Super 12s to decide on the semi-finalists, even one defeat could be enough to see them dumped out of the tournament.
And if you think Buttler is exaggerating, just look at what happened to South Africa last year who won four out of five games only to see England and Australia qualify above them on net run rate. It is a lesson learnt by the skipper who has only experienced heartbreak in the shortest format’s global showpiece as a runner-up in 2016 and in last year’s semi-final, but who is determined to start a new era in the best way possible.
“Last year we learnt just how ruthless the format is and how much importance there is on every single game,” said Buttler.
“South Africa didn’t go through from our group having won four out of five games so it’s a really tough format. It’s incredibly competitive and we know that. We expect that. Just to be fully focused on every individual game is the biggest thing in how the tournament is set up.
“This is very much a new era for the English white-ball team. A lot of us played in the past era but it’s very much about looking forward now for this group.
“I think it’s really important to be that forward-facing sort of team talking about the future a lot and that starts with tomorrow.”
Buttler will lead England into a global tournament for the first time on Saturday, and the injury to Reece Topley has left him with a couple of tricky decisions to make on the balance of his team.
Arguably Topley’s greatest asset was his ability to be effective at every stage of an innings, and without him it could leave England exposed at either end.
David Willey is at his best with the new ball, while Chris Jordan is a serious asset at the death when fully fit and firing.
The best man for the job should be Tymal Mills, but he is returning from injury and not deemed to be back to where he was this time last year when he was England’s best bowler.
Buttler added: “We can go a multitude of ways and I'm very confident in the team. We have got some great options and these are good headaches to have.
“We’ve got guys who have performed very well in the recent past, some world-class players coming back into the team, and guys back from injuries as well.
“I think that drives performance when you've got good players who miss out, it's generally the sign of a team that's going in the right direction.”
