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Jos Buttler hails depth in England squad, backs Eoin Morgan as ODI captain after Dutch series sweep

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 England stand-in skipper Jos Buttler has hailed the ‘great depth’ in the squad after leading England to an ODI series sweep against the Netherlands but backed regular ODI captain Eoin Morgan to return to take charge despite his lean run with the bat.

England rode on an unbeaten hundred by Jason Roy and an unfinished 86 by Buttler to beat the Netherlands by eight wickets as Morgan, who scored two ducks in the previous two matches, sat out the match with a groin injury.

The win took England to the top of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League Standings with 125 points. Before the start of the series, England were third on the table with 95 points, but their flawless victory means they have leapfrogged Afghanistan and Bangladesh to the summit.

Chasing 245 for the win, the England openers once again got their side off to a fiery start. Roy set the tone with consecutive boundaries off van Beek in the second over. It got worse for the Dutch bowler as Phil Salt got in on the act and plundered him for four boundaries in a single over.

“Great victory, picked up wickets at crucial times. In good form, keep going when you’re in good form. There’s a lot of cricket coming up in a short space of time, more guys standing up on this trip,” said Buttler after winning the series.

“(David) Payne threatening on debut, Brydon’s exciting, a deep pool of players. And we’re incredibly fortunate to have the Barmy Army, Amsterdam away is a pretty good trip,” he added.

Though Morgan has been in poor form, scoring 103 runs in five ODI innings with a highest of 75 not out while in 43 T20 matches, he scored 643 runs with a top score of 47 not out.

However, Buttler defended Morgan and said the batter will soon return to form as his ability with the bat “doesn’t just go away overnight”.

“There’s certainly no questioning of his position from within the camp,” Buttler was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo in a report on Wednesday. “I can’t put into words what he’s achieved. Everyone always talks about his captaincy but you forget what a brilliant batsman he’s been for England in over 200 ODIs, that doesn’t just go away overnight. Everyone in the team is backing him.”

Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, had earlier defended Morgan’s position while speaking at Headingley ahead of his side’s third Test against New Zealand. “Well, he’s only had two low scores, so I wouldn’t say he’s going through a hard time at the moment,” Stokes was quoted as saying in the report.

International

Violent Clash Erupts Between Rival Supporters During Argentina vs Brazil 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has been marred in controversy as the match between Brazil and Argentina saw violent clashes between rival supporters before the start of it. The high-profile fixture had to be delayed by 30 minutes as the Marcana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro witnessed ugly scenes, with disturbing visuals emerging on social media.

With the Brazilian and Argentinian players lining up for national anthems, the camera turned towards the stands as a section of rival fans exchanged blows. The local police officials could be seen beating up a section of Argentinian fans with batons and it did not go well with the tourists. By pointing at the violent scenes, Messi and co. decided to walk off the pitch.

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International

PAK vs ENG, CWC 2023: ‘Broke 25 Crore People’s Hopes In 5 Seconds’, Netizens Troll Pakistan As England Almost Kill The Game At Toss

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Pakistan cricket fans were left ruing their luck at the toss as it fell in England’s favour at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. With Jos Buttler winning the toss marking the end of Pakistan’s campaign at the showpiece event, netizens have relentlessly trolled Babar Azam and his men for losing the contest at the toss.

Coming into the game, Pakistan were facing a near impossible equation as winning the toss was the first priority. After winning the toss, Pakistan had to beat them by a massive 287-run margin. As things stand currently, Babar Azam and co. must do the unthinkable, bowling out for a mere 20 runs and getting those in only 1.3 overs, which would be their best-case scenario.

As things stand, the target for Pakistan will get bigger and the overs will keep diminishing. Pakistan fans were already irked as Babar was excluded among the list of captains during the light show at the Gateway of India in Mumbai on Thursday. It’s worth noting that Pakistan haven’t qualified for the 50-over World Cup semi-finals since the 2011 edition.

Pakistan have also made one change from their last match, benching Hassan Ali for an extra spinner in Shadab Khan. England have gone ahead with an unchanged line-up.

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CWC 2023: South Africa vs Australia Semi-Final To Be Shifted To Mumbai If Pakistan Reach Knockouts, Confirm ICC Sources

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The ODI World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Australia will be shifted to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai if Pakistan qualify for the knockouts, sources in the International Cricket Council confirmed to the Free Press Journal on Thursday.

If Pakistan manage to reach the semis then they will face arch-rivals India once again in this tournament. In that case, the semi-final will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 15.

But if Pakistan don’t reach the semis then India will face either New Zealand or Afghanistan in Mumbai and South Africa will take on Australia in Kolkata as per the original schedule.India are scheduled to play their semifinal match in Mumbai only if they don’t face Pakistan. The Men in Green have refused to play in Mumbai due to security reasons.

Pakistan qualification scenario explained

But Pakistan’s qualification depends on the result of the match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka which is being played at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.

If New Zealand manage to beat Sri Lanka by a comfortable margin then Pakistan’s qualification will take a hit even if they defeat England in their last league game. A loss against the defending champions in Kolkata on November 11 will automatically knockout Pakistan from the race for the semis.

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