Brook backs Buttler as England overcome more top-order batting frailties

Opener looks a shadow of dominant self but captain is sure he'll come good when team needs him

Harry Brook, 27 today, thanked his England team for the "beautiful birthday present" as they claimed first blood in the T20 World Cup Super Eights with an emphatic 51-run win over Sri Lanka in Pallekele. At the same time, he threw his weight behind his captaincy predecessor, Jos Buttler, after another deeply uncertain display at the top of England's batting order.

England's victory was their 12th in a row in T20Is against Sri Lanka, and put them top in Group 2 after the opening round of Super Eight fixtures, following Saturday's washout between New Zealand and Pakistan in Colombo. The win proved comprehensive in the final analysis, but it felt anything but at the halfway mark, with Sri Lanka restricting their opponents to 146 for 9, a total that felt at least 20 runs below par.

Phil Salt was England's mainstay, with a hard-earned 62 from 40 balls. But his much-vaunted opening partnership with Buttler once again failed to come to fruition. Buttler, with 53 runs in four innings in the group stages, once again looked woefully out of form, and after missing a succession of drives against Dilshan Madushanka, he attempted a reverse-sweep off Dunith Wellalage to fall lbw for 7 from 14 balls.

At the age of 35, and after struggling for form at both the 2023 ODI World Cup and last year's Champions Trophy, doubts are beginning to gather about Buttler's enduring role in the side, with the player himself conceding that his returns so far have been "frustrating". Brook, however, remains in no doubt whatsoever that his team-mate will come good as the sharp end of the tournament draws nearer.

"No concern at all," Brook said at the post-match presentation. "He's a powerhouse of world cricket. He has been for many years. He's arguably the best white-ball player to have ever played the game, and he's just lacking a little bit of confidence at the minute. But I'd rather him start the competition like this and finish with a flourish. So I'm looking forward and I'm really excited to see how he goes the next couple of games."

Brook had been outspoken about Sri Lanka's wickets during their bilateral series in the country last month, describing the surface for his team's victory in the second ODI as "the worst pitch I've ever played on."Buttler's lean run•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He was thankful, however, for the experience of that tour, in particular England's three hard-fought wins in the T20I leg. In their previous outing at Pallekele, his team had utilized their depth of spin options to successfully defend 129, with Will Jacks mopping up the tail with 3 for 14 in four overs. That knowledge proved invaluable in rolling Sri Lanka aside for 95, with Jacks this time opening the bowling and reeling off four consecutive overs for 3 for 22.

"We've played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks, and we knew that he was going to play a big part today," Brook said. "Jacksy was pretty annoyed with the way he got out [for 21 from 14 balls]. He said to me, he always bowls better when he's angry, and thankfully, he got off to a cracking start.

"I didn't think there were really any demons in the pitch," Brook added. "It was just slow. It was hard to time. We had a chat with the spinners, and we don't really need to vary our lines. It's more our paces. And we got rewards for that, with a few caught-and-bowleds, and a couple of catches out on the boundary. But it was perfect adaptation to the surface."

Jofra Archer was also in the wickets in the powerplay, including the vital early removal of Pathum Nissanka, whose 52-ball hundred had been instrumental in eliminating Australia from the competition in Sri Lanka's previous match in Pallekele. This time, Archer avoided his hitting arc on the leg stump, and Nissanka was caught at deep midwicket for 9, trying to fetch the ball from outside off.RelatedButtler 'frustrated' by World Cup form but won't rein himself in

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"I didn't say we had it covered, but we were a bit confident," Archer told Sky Sports at the close. "[Last month] we defended less than what we defended tonight, and we had a really nice team chat in the dressing room, just saying, we can win from anywhere. I didn't think the situation would have come around this fast, but I'm glad that we were able to get the job done."

After England's three fraught victories over Nepal, Scotland and Italy in the group stage, this was the team's most comprehensive win of the campaign, although Archer admitted there was still work to do for them to get back to the dominance for which their white-ball teams were once renowned.

"This is probably not the perfect game, but we are getting there," he said. "Every game, we're better than the last, and we're going to get there. It's not a sprint. Both Nepal and Italy had the best game that they've had all tournament, against us. I felt like, even like the DJs at one point, everybody was trying to get the better of England.

"Nobody wants to fail. Tournament play is different from a series. If you lose a series, fine, that's it. But nobody wants to lose games, especially in a tournament. So, I guess it's normal to be a little bit tentative, but the coach [Brendon McCullum] gave us the all the old clarity. We've got world-class hitters, and we shouldn't be getting out trying to get ones and twos."

That said, Archer added that he was "proud" of the manner in which Salt reined in his game in England's tough circumstances. He batted through the powerplay for the first time in the tournament, and was eventually sixth man out with the score on 106.

"I'm impressed with all of the batters, actually," Archer said. "Phil, that's not a role that he's usually doing. The Phil Salt of old would have gotten out for 30, you know, when it started get a little bit frustrating. So I'm very glad, and very proud of him as well, and also the other lads. They didn't get the runs that we really needed, but we spoke about how we wanted to get out. We were a bit tentative in India, and it didn't come off today, but at least the guys are trying, and it'll click one of these games."

Most crucially, however, it needs to click for Buttler. Brook, however, is adamant that his current struggles on a succession of tough surfaces will be put right as and when England get reacquainted with a pitch that rewards his power game.

"Jos hasn't fired yet. But when he does fire, and he gets on a very good wicket, he's going to get a hundred and blitz the team away. Same with Salty as well. He's got 60 today, but it's not the flourishing Salty that we know. Once we can figure that powerplay out, and get on top of them with the bat, then we're going to be a very hard team to beat."