ICC World Cup 2023: Completely outplayed, says Buttler after World Cup opener loss to NZ

Jos Buttler. Pic/Getty Images

England captain Jos Buttler had no qualms in admitting that his side, the defending ODI World Cup champions, were completely outplayed by New Zealand in the opening game of the 2023 World Cup here on Thursday.

However, he felt the pitch helped the NZ batsmen in the latter half of the game, eventuating in a nine-wicket loss for England.

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"I think we were short of runs with the bat. I think the wicket probably did get better under the lights, but I think we were a long way short of our best with the bat and still made 280. So, we're probably looking at a score of 320, 330 which would have allowed us to build some kind of pressure and stuff. But I thought the margin for error was very small on that wicket and two batters who played exceptional innings," Buttler said.

The seasoned campaigner admitted the Kiwis outclassed the English side. "Yeah, disappointed. Completely outplayed. But the first thing that springs to mind is whether you do lose by a run or a defeat like that, it is one loss at the start of a very long tournament. So, that's something that I'd be encouraging everyone to remember. It's certainly a tough loss to take. We were outplayed but you know we've got a lot of experience in the room - guys who've been through lots of things and faced defeats like that before. So just as we had won the game, we don't get too high and we don't get too low when we lose as well," Buttler added.