T20 World Cup: Mark Wood is 'vital, we'll look after him,' says Jos Buttler after England beat Afghanistan

England captain Jos Buttler heaped praise on Mark Wood and Sam Curran after their five-wicket win over Afghanistan in T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Curran, who was named the Player of the Match, became the first English men's bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in T20Is. He finished with figures of 5 for 10 in 3.4 overs as Afghanistan were bowled out for 112 in 19.4 overs at Perth Stadium.

The pacing duo of Wood and Ben Stokes picked up two wickets each, while Chris Woakes also made a breakthrough in the first innings.

While England would have wanted to chase it down quickly, they did struggle with the bat. Skipper Buttler was removed inside the powerplay after hitting three boundaries. Alex Hales, who was dropped twice, failed to capitalise on his earned lives. World No. 6 T20I batsman Dawid Malan, who faced 30 deliveries, managed only 18 runs, while he could not hit any boundary. While the primary Afghan spinners picked up a wicket each, their team could not stop the runs flow much because of his dropped catches and plenty of midfields.

Eventually, Liam Livingstone batted calmly and with his unbeaten 29 off 21 balls, he helped England seal the game in 18.1 overs.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Buttler appreciated his side's excellent fielding effort against Afghanistan.

"Coming into the tournament, there's always a few nerves. We've been playing a lot of cricket to buld up to this point. There's a lot of anticipation. To get out there and get a win under our belt is fantastic. Fielding is a huge part of this game. It was a fantastic effort in the field. Mark Wood is always fun to keep wicket to, he's someone who can create catches like that, delighted to hang on to that. He's very vital. He's been backing up games and has been a great asset. He's in a good place and we'll try to look after him," said Buttler after England's win in Perth.

Talking about Curran's role as a death bowler, Buttler said that the young pacer has "got great character for that role."

"He's thriving with the extra responsibility. He enjoys the tough moments. He demands the ball in those situations which is a great attitude to have. The most pleasing thing about Sam is he always wants to bowl. Felt like the ball swung early, Afghanistan have a talented bowling attack, we were challenged and we had to pay respect to the bowlers. It could have been more fluent but I thought Afghanistan bowled well," added Buttler.

ENG vs AFG: 'Enjoying my cricket at the moment,' says Sam Curran

Curran, who registered the best bowling figures in T20Is by an English bowler on Saturday, said that he would try to be as adaptable as possible with the ball in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.

"We saw the way the Afghanistan team made it quite tricky, we knew they had world-class spinners in the middle there. Nice to get the first win. Every team can beat anyone. Hopefully, we take today's confidence into Wednesday's game and then the big one against Australia on Friday.

Hopefully, we can play with confidence. No better preparation than playing that many games. To come here and start with a win is obviously great. It'll be another tricky game against Ireland. I try to be as adaptable as possible (with the ball). I'm trying to get better at different phases and keep contributing. Really enjoying my cricket at the moment," added Curran.

England next play against Ireland on Wednesday (Oct. 26) in the Super 12 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).