Picture Credit: ICC
The English sports are set for a ride over the next few weeks as their cricket team is playing the T20 World Cup final in Australia. Then days later the England football team will kick off their FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Ahead of the final, England cricket captain, Jos Buttler was asked about the upcoming major sports events where he expressed that their team could inspire and motivate the football team if they manage to defeat Pakistan at Melbourne. Buttler spoke about the importance of sports in England and hence hopes to give Gareth Southgate’s team that extra push which boosts their morale in Qatar.
Buttler said, "Yeah, I certainly hope so. Sport is such a huge part of English culture, and getting behind teams in World Cups is certainly something I know happens a lot in England. Even though we're on the other side of the world, you can certainly feel that support."
The wicketkeeper-batter then spoke about the football fandom in England, as during the World Cup all games are available for free. He said, "The images you see of the Euros, obviously, nothing will compete with football in our country. Of course, the game is going to be on free-to-air television, which is fantastic, will bring new eyes to the game."
Going back to the final, Buttler was asked about their opponents Pakistan, where he talked about the seven-game T20I series played between the two nations before the T20 World Cup. Three Lions emerged victorious with a 4-3 margin but the bilateral series produced some incredible games with high-quality cricket.
Buttler said, "We expect a really tough challenge, as mentioned before. They're a team we've seen lots of in the recent past, and we've had some brilliant matches against them, played in a fantastic spirit, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no different."