Stuart Broad positive despite defeat – Cricket News Update
Following their 8-run loss against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the 1st T20 of the 3-match series at UAE, England captain Stuart Broad stressed the need for his team to remain positive despite their defeat.
“(…) it's not something to get too down about, because we could have won that game almost down to the last over - and it's important we keep positive about it," Broad insisted.
It has been an erratic series in terms of the unpredictability of the performances of the tourists. England was whitewashed by Pakistan, 0-3, in the initial Test matches, only to sweep the ODI series against the home team, 4-0.
Broad’s side seemed poised to win the first T20, when the team needed 7 runs per over in the latter part of the innings, with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604’s timely intervention, where he took out the batter with an exquisite
yorker, helped the host to make a comeback. It further put pressure on the late order, which failed to deal with the Men In Green’s bowling attack and eventually fell 8 runs of the 145 target.
Commenting on the uncertainty of T20 matches, England skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SCJ-Broad-c2465 claimed that it was hard to gauge how a match in this particular format could turn out.
“We probably didn't play him as well as we could have done,” Broad admitted, referring to Pakistani pacer, Umar Gul. “But it's such a fine line in Twenty20 cricket. You never think Twenty20 cricket is in the bag.”
Nevertheless, he appreciated Gul as “one of the best Twenty20 bowlers in the world,” and acknowledged his prowess at getting the ball to reverse-swing.
The T20 captain went on the praise the performances of the Pakistani batsmen, saying http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Malik-c90088 came through for their team near the end of their innings, after the top order failed to make an impression. “We needed someone to bat all
the way through,” he said while reflecting on his team's performance.
However, he added that the English squad held potential to turn the series around in their favour, as they had a good number of promising players.
“You saw Jonny Bairstow at Cardiff [against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 last September] smash it all around, and Jos Buttler's record is absolutely fantastic,” Broad observed.
The visitors have a chance to level the series score, when they play in the second T20, scheduled to kick off on February 25 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Tags: