Cricket World Cup 2023: England captain Jos Buttler criticises 'poor' outfield
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Dharamshala hosts England's second game of the 2023 World Cup
England v Bangladesh, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup |
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Venue: Dharamshala Dates: Tuesday 10 October Time: 06:00 BST |
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 sports extra, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary with in-play clips on the BBC Sport website. |
England captain Jos Buttler has described the Dharamshala outfield as "poor" and questioned whether it impacts the integrity of Tuesday's World Cup match against Bangladesh.
Concerns about the patchy, sand-based outfield, have meant England have barely trained on it before the match.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman was lucky to escape serious injury after his knee dug into the ground when sliding in a match at the same venue on Saturday.
"You are going to have to be a little bit smart as fielders and a little bit careful, which isn't something you want to be when you are playing for your country," Buttler told BBC Sport.
"You want to dive around and save every single run."
Tournament officials inspected the surface on Sunday and match referee Javagal Srinath is understood to have no concerns.
A Test between Australia and India was due to be played at the same venue in March but was moved because of the outfield.
There are bare patches throughout the outfield in Dharamshala
The whole area was relaid prior to that game to improve the drainage.
Asked if he was comfortable about the game going ahead, Buttler said: "The powers that be are comfortable so…
"The only thing I would question is if you are telling players not to dive and stuff, does that question the integrity of the game really, because that is what you want to be able to do.
"Worse-case scenario is something bad happens but fingers crossed that doesn't happen for both teams."
The match is crucial for defending champions England, following their heavy defeat by New Zealand in the tournament opener.
They sit bottom of the table in the 10-team group stage.
"We know we didn't play as well as we can in the last game and we're desperate to put that right, both individually and as a team," Buttler said.
"There's plenty of hunger in the group and we're excited to get back on the field."
Buttler confirmed Ben Stokes is likely to miss the game as he continues his recovery from a hip injury.
Stokes had another long net on Monday and faced spin bowlers, having faced exclusively throw downs on Sunday - his first net in 10 days because of the issue.
Conditions in Dharamshala are usually favourable to seam bowling - more so than any other major ground in India - but Saturday's pitch, on which Bangladesh beat Afghanistan in their opener, was slow.
That said, Tuesday's match will be played on a fresh surface which it is understood looks good for batting.
England could bring in an extra seam bowler - Reece Topley, David Willey or Gus Atkinson - in place of spin-bowling all-rounders Moeen Ali or Liam Livingstone.
The venue is a far cry from the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad where England played the Black Caps, with Dharamshala being one of the most scenic grounds in the world.
It is perched 1,500m above sea level with the Himalayan mountains providing the backdrop on one side of the ground.
Some of England's players spent their day off hiking and freshwater swimming while the city of Dharamshala - with a population of 62,596 scattered across the mountain side - is also the home of the Dalai Lama.
