‘Worst-case scenario is…’: Buttler’s bombshell take on ‘poor’ Dharamshala pitch ahead of England’s WC tie vs BAN
England will have plenty to analyse ahead of their upcoming ODI World Cup fixture against Bangladesh, in Dharamshala on Tuesday. The defending champions haven’t been at their best, and were shocked in the tournament opener, crashing to a nine-wicket loss against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
England’s Jos Buttler during practice.(REUTERS)
The English bowlers were destroyed totally, failing to defend a target of 282 runs as Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) showed why New Zealand are one of the contenders for the title this year. Runners-up in 2019, New Zealand reached 283/1 in 36.2 overs with ease. Moeen Ali was slammed for 60 runs in 9.2 overs and failed to take a wicket. Meanwhile, Mark Wood leaked 55 runs, Adil Rashid and Sam Curran gave away 47 runs respectively. Chris Wood was smacked for 45 runs and Liam Livingstone conceded 24.
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Already having to deal with the pressure of losing their opener, England captain Buttler will also need to worry about the Dharamshala pitch, which caused plenty of concerns during Bangladesh’s win vs Afghanistan on Saturday. Afghan spinner Mujeed Ur Rahman almost got injured when his knee got stuck in the surface as he slid to stop a boundary. The ICC also rated the outfield as ‘average’.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Buttler said, “I think it’s poor, in my own opinion. It’s not as good as it could be or should be. Certainly if you feel like you’re having to hold yourself back, it’s not a place you want to be as a team or as a player or in a World Cup match.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC, the England captain added, “The powers-that-be are comfortable. … The only thing I would question is, if you are telling players not to dive and stuff, does that question the integrity of the game? Worse-case scenario is something bad happens, but fingers crossed that doesn’t happen for both teams.”
“Any time you’re talking about being careful diving, or maybe being careful when you’re fielding, it goes against everything you want to be as a team. You want to dive through a row of houses to save a run. So it’s obviously not ideal, the way the surface is.”
Meanwhile, Buttler also revealed that Ben Stokes wasn’t fully fit and could miss the match against Bangladesh. England’s batting also dissapointed in the tournament opener, posting 282/9 in 50 overs as Joe Root bagged a half-century. Root registered 77 off 86 balls, hitting four fours and a six.
