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England start their T20 World Cup campaign on a winning note, defeating Afghanistan by five wickets as Curran recorded the best bowling figures by an English bowler in T20I matches.
The 24-year-old took five wickets, two in the 18th over and a pair in the last over while conceding just 10 runs.
“(Curran at death) I think he has good character for that role. He thrives with the extra responsibility,” Buttler said at the post-match presentation.
“He demands the ball in those situations, which is a good attitude to have. He always wants to bowl.”
England were outstanding on the field in their tournament opener.
“Coming into the tournament there’s always a few nerves. We’ve played a lot of cricket. There’s a lot of anticipation. To get out there and get a win under the belt is fantastic.
“Fielding is a big part of this game. It was a fantastic effort.”
Another positive for England was Mark Wood, who recently returned from injury, as he was back to his best. All 24 deliveries bowled by the pacer were over 140 clicks.
“Mark Wood is always good to keep wicket, he is someone who can create chances. He is very important. He supported games and was a great asset.”
While England were hostile with the ball, the Afghan spinners were asking questions of the English batsmen.
“Full as the ball swung early, Afghanistan have a talented bowling attack, we were challenged and we had to show respect. It could have been more fluent but Afghanistan bowled well,” Buttler said.
Player of the Match Curran said he was trying to be “as adaptable as possible.”
“Trying to get better in different phases of the game. Really enjoying my cricket at the moment.”
“We saw how the Afghanistan team made it quite difficult towards the end. They have world-class spinners… You saw in the qualifying groups, with the West Indies missing out that any team can.”
“Hopefully we can keep playing with confidence and keep winning. To come here and start with a win is great. Ireland will be another tough game,” he added.
Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi felt his team was falling short by 30-40 runs.
“It’s not a good start but we tried our best to play good cricket. Everyone knows England are one of the best teams.
“The pitch was more suited to England. We didn’t put a good total on the board. They took 2-3 good catches.
“We thought 140-150 would be a good total fight, but we couldn’t get there.
Nabi said that the spin trio of Rashid Khan Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the captain himself could use his Big Bash League experience.
“If we make a good total, we have quality spinners. Me, Rash and Mujeeb have the experience of playing in the BBL. We will learn from our mistakes in the next game.”