Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Following England’s 50-run defeat against Bangladesh in the third One-Dayer in Chittagong, captain Jos Buttler has mentioned that his side has areas to improve ahead of their World Cup defense. In the third ODI, Bangladesh put up a courageous show with Shakib’s all-round performances and foiled England’s plans to whitewash them.
Buttler and his co. had to chase down 247 to bag the series but with the batters’ poor performance, the team got folded to 196 in 43.1 overs. In October-November, this year, England will head in to the World Cup in India as the defending champions, and to retain the trophy, the skipper believes there’s plenty to learn.
“I think we played some really good cricket throughout the series and I’ve spoken a lot about these being great conditions for us to challenge ourselves in,” said Buttler as quoted by NDTV.
He also added, “These are probably the conditions that we would find the hardest as a team. Now there’s plenty to learn — things that we’ve done well and areas that we can also improve.”
Before the World Cup, senior players and 2019 world champions Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow could return to the squad.
Failed experiment in the third ODI
The game also witnessed Buttler experimenting with his team combination and including Rehan Ahmed in the playing XI. The 18-year-old leg-spinner became the most expensive bowler in the match, splurging 62 runs in his ten-over spell.
The England skipper also promoted Sam Curran in the batting order, sending the left-handed batter to bat at number five. The experiment, however, didn’t work as the 24-year-old struggled to rack up runs quickly and got dismissed at 23 off 49.
Defending his experiment in the third ODI, Buttler said the match gave him the opportunity to experiment with players and it was because they were leading the series.
“We changed a few things today and gave opportunity to people in different ways, but I thought the intensity was there,” he said.
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