Buttler slams 'poor' Dharamsala outfield ahead of Bangladesh match
Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler at HPCA stadium
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After warning his England players to be cautious when diving in the deep against Bangladesh, Jos Buttler branded the sandy Dharamsala outfield as "poor" and questioned the venue's fitness to hold a World Cup match.
England trained at the scenic HPCA stadium on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, and Buttler, their captain, admitted he had concerns about the outfield.
"I think it's poor, in my own opinion. I think 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,” Buttler.
"You want to dive through a row of houses to save a run. That's obviously not ideal, the way the surface is, the outfield. But we won't use it as an excuse. We'll adapt to it. But 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” he added.
The outfield was rated "average" by the match officials for Bangladesh's six-wicket win over Afghanistan on Saturday.
However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stated that independent pitch specialist Andy Atkinson viewed the outfield on Sunday and is "comfortable" with it, as is match referee Javagal Srinath.
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Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in their tournament opener, easily chasing down a target of 157 with 15 overs to spare.
Spinners Shakib Al Hasan and man of the match Mehidy Hasan Miraz took six of the wickets to fall.
With both sides still having eight group games to play in the marathon tournament, Buttler insists there is plenty of opportunity to bounce back.
"Both teams have only played one match, so we're very confident as a team," said Buttler.
"We know we can play better than we did in the last game and we look forward to putting in a good performance tomorrow."
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath said his team will be encouraged not to think about the potential pitfalls of the surface.
"We are not going to restrict anything because if you ask someone to restrict something, in that case they don't give their 100%," the former Sri Lanka player said.
"They did well in the previous game, so we are asking give their best even in the outfield as well."
