By: Shubham Ghosh
England limited-over captain Jos Buttler feels that playing on a slow-and-low wicket in the upcoming twin white-ball series in Bangladesh will be an ideal preparation for his side ahead of the 50-over World Cup which will be held in India later this year.
The Three Lions, who will defend their world title, are due to play three one-day internationals and as many T20s in Bangladesh starting Wednesday (1) in Mirpur.
“This is exactly the kind of challenge we need, nearing the World Cup, to test ourselves in probably the conditions that we as a side will find the hardest,” Buttler, who led England to the T20 World Cup crown in Australia last year, told reporters in Dhaka on Sunday (26).
“We’re expecting a slow and low wicket, which is exactly what we want, to test ourselves in tough conditions which will be great preparation for us moving forward,” the wicket-keeper-batter was quoted as saying by Reuters.
England will, however, be without some of their multi-format players with the Test team currently playing in New Zealand but Buttler said they will still have a balanced attack.
“Generally the wicket will be slower, but guys like Jofra (Archer) and Mark Wood have fantastic airspeed, so someone who can bowl with such pace on these wickets is still a handful,” he added.
“It’s not always to the benefit of the batsman. We have a nice variety in the squad. Right-arm, left-arm, high pace, guys who can swing it.”
England have beaten Bangladesh in all three ODI series the two teams have played in the Asian country, the last being a 2-1 victory in a three-match series in 2016-17.
They will play a bilateral series in the T20 format for the first time.
