Cricket - ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 - England Practice - Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, India - October 8, 2023 England's Jos Buttler during practice.
Reuters
England captain Jos Buttler made a scathing assessment of the HPCA Stadium outfield, terming it as 'poor' ahead of their World Cup match against Bangladesh here on Tuesday.
Buttler's observation came after Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott too had expressed his displeasure over the outfield at the venue after their match against Bangladesh.
While Trott was a bit circumspect in his views, Buttler gave a more candid opinion of his concerns.
'Yeah, a few (concerns) I think,' Butter began during his pre-match press meet here on Monday before opening up on the state of the field.
'It's poor in my own opinion. I think any time you're sort of talking about being careful diving or sort of being careful when you're fielding, it sort of goes against everything you want to be as a team.
'You know you want to dive through our houses to save a run. So, that's obviously not ideal, the way the surface is, the outfield. The outfield is different to when we played here in the IPL,' Buttler held forth.
The question was posed to the Somersetman after several players slipped on the HPCA Stadium outfield while chasing the ball during the match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman fell on his knees while taking a dive, giving some anxious moments to the Afghan camp.
Buttler said injury could happen on any surface but entering the match with that premonition on the back of the mind was not a good thing.
'Yeah, injuries can happen at any time, on any surface, but I think it's (HPCA Stadium) definitely one where you're going to have to be a little bit careful, which isn't what you want to be doing playing for your country.
'You want to put your body on the line and be trying to save every single run or have confidence in the field. If you feel like you're having to hold yourself back, it's not a place you want to be as a team or player, or in a World Cup match.
'So, it's not as good as it could be or should be, but it's going to be the same for both teams,' added Buttler.
The 33-year-old also said the bowlers, especially the pacers, would be keeping a close eye on the run-up area.
'It's just getting that level of trust. Certainly, guys tearing in and trying to bowl fast, they need that confidence in the run-up.
'So yeah, I think it will probably take guys a couple of balls probably to get used to it. But they are professionals, they'll adapt,' he said.
While the big-hitting opener sounded cautious, Buttler said the state of the outfield would not deter his side from giving its best against Bangladesh.
'But the wicket looks fantastic. We will adapt to it. We're hungry to get out there and play well. So, we won't be using it as an excuse. We just have to be a bit smart, I think,' he said.
Buttler said Ben Stokes, who is recuperating from a hip niggle, might not start against Bangladesh.
The all-rounder did not play in England's tournament opener against New Zealand as well.
'Yeah, probably unlikely. It's good to see him back in the nets and building back towards full fitness but probably unlikely for tomorrow,' said Buttler.
'Need to adapt to field'
Bangladesh coach Rangana Herath said his players would have to adapt to the outfield here, but he did not want to attach any restrictions on them.
The ICC had given the outfield an average rating after the match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
'We are not going to restrict anything because if you ask someone to restrict something, they don't give their 100%.
'I'm sure that they did well in that previous game, so we are asking to give their best even in the outfield as well,' said Herath.
Herath said the ICC has put in hard work at the venue, and he was happy about it.
'I think ICC have done a lot of hard work on that. I think they think that (match can be played) because of the standard that they have maintained.
'They have given that authority to play one-day international. So, in that case, I'm happy with it,' said Herath.