jos buttler Admitted that planning for the long term was more beneficial than any short-term fine-tuning – even in England’s final overseas ODI before this winter’s 50-over World Cup – 50 in the third ODI Bangladesh in Chattogram after the run defeat.
With a 2–0 lead ahead of the Dhaka leg, England had already become the first team to win a bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh since Buttler himself won 2–1 in 2016–17.
But instead of pushing for a series clean-sweep, England chose to reshuffle their pack, introducing – among other changes – a white-ball legspinner rehan ahmedand promotion in the batting order Sam CurranJoe came in ahead of Buttler at No. 5 and contributed 23 runs in a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket with James Vince.
Despite restricting Bangladesh to 246 in another impressive bowling performance, in which Rehan was the only player to complete his entire allotment of ten overs, England were eventually defeated by the proven ploy of Shakib Al Hasan, who scored 75 off 71 balls. . before stopping the run-chase with decent figures of 4 for 35 including his 300th in ODI cricket.
“Those numbers speak for themselves, don’t they?” Butler, the England white-ball captain, said. “Playing against him, you know how big a challenge it is. If you go back to the 2019 World Cup, his performance was outstanding. He is a fantastic player.”
Buttler, however, was unfazed by the defeat, and insisted that the nature of England’s victories in the first two games – particularly Dawid Malan’s hard-hitting centuries in the first game and Jason Roy’s in the second – had given his team enough. Hints as to the approach that could prove successful on similar wickets in India this winter.
“We changed a few things today and gave chances to guys in different ways, but I thought the intensity was still there,” Butler said. “We definitely believed we could win games, and if we played well enough, we could win games.
“But today was an opportunity for Rehan to make his debut and Sam to bat at No.5, and it’s the last ODI we play now until September. So, especially in these circumstances, it looks like a great opportunity.” as much information as we could, and expose people to different situations. If we lost the game, so be it. But I certainly believed that we had a team and a performance that Could have won the game.”
Buttler’s stoic approach reflects an ODI cycle in which England have consistently struggled to field their first-choice XI. Rehan’s selection made him the 39th different player they have used in 36 matches since their win in the 2019 final, while England’s record in that period, 18 wins and 15 losses, has been equally hit and miss .
Buttler, however, said that England’s victory in the T20 World Cup in Australia before Christmas – which was achieved despite an equally disrupted build-up – had given him confidence that it was time to come together in India in seven months’ time. The team will be capable. Calling on similar experience to overcome lack of physical preparation.
Butler said, “I think the schedule is very challenging to always bring your best XI on the field.” “But the game’s changed a bit [since] The last cycle of the World Cup.
“Looking at the T20 World Cup, we probably went into a World Cup that our perceived best XI had never played in. But then to get into the tournament and win it, that gives you a lot of confidence, even if we didn’t have Haven’t always got a chance to play my best team, international cricket has become [more] The focus on ICC tournaments I think is the way we are building towards that. And we know that when the World Cup arrives, we will have the opportunity to choose from everyone available.”
England’s first-choice batting unit has notably depleted in recent months, with Ben Stokes retiring from 50-over cricket due to the constant demands for England’s multi-format players, and Joe Root also recently Absent from this tour due to conflict. Jonny Bairstow would have missed the tour for the same reasons, had he not already been ruled out of the Test series in New Zealand with a broken leg.
And so, this third ODI was arguably of utmost importance for two batsmen like Phil Salt and Vince, who were likely to make it into the full-strength squad. Salt looked furious with himself when he failed to convert a quick 25-ball 35 into a more substantial performance, while Vince’s 44-ball 38 was a similarly incomplete performance.
Butler said, “Everyone is desperate to play well, whether you are an established player or you are someone who is seen on the sidelines as having potential.” “We know there’s huge quality in those guys, and it’s great to expose them in these conditions, but I think, if you look at today’s game, we needed someone who was really focused on that goal.” Can take ownership of
“One of the big learnings is, when you lose a few wickets in groups in conditions like this, it’s a good time for the opposition to really squeeze you and you feel under pressure. If we see, then we are taking garlands. Game all the way and Jason Roy played a long innings to bring up a century, yes we are probably missing someone today and playing that match defining innings.
Butler insisted that his performance in England had not lacked “intensity”, but admitted that he had taken the “opportunity” of the dead-rubber scenario to experiment with his options. This included giving Rehan his full quota of overs (England’s last man of the series, Adil Rashid, bowled just five), while Curran was given the chance to respond to a difficult situation with the bat, a 54-run stand between Roy and After the opening partnership, Salt was broken for the loss of three wickets inside eight balls.
“He doesn’t lack confidence,” said Buttler, after Rehan – at 18 years and 205 days – had hit the first figures of 1 for 62 with the final ball of his spell. “He’s got a lot of confidence in his ability, which is fantastic for a young boy, and he was willing to bowl in very aggressive areas and challenge himself, which is a good sign going forward. A boy on debut For, I thought she handled herself brilliantly.
Butler said, “We have a lot of all-rounders in our team and today felt like a good opportunity to use them all.” “I see a lot of potential in Sam Curran with the bat and today was an opportunity for him to move up the order. So yeah, that’s the thinking behind it.”
“We’ve played some really good cricket throughout the series, and I’ve spoken a lot about these great conditions to challenge ourselves.
“As a team these are probably the conditions we will find the toughest. Bangladesh are a tough side to beat in their conditions. So to win the series, there is a lot to learn. Things we have done well,” he added. and areas in which we can also improve.”