Bangladesh tough to beat at home; slow, low surfaces wil be a great challenge: England skipper Buttler ahead of 1st ODI

Buttler's team added to their white-ball domination by clinching their second ICC T20 World Cup title last year. They clinched their first-ever 50-over World Cup in 2019 after defeating New Zealand in final, but their opportunities to prepare and build for a title defence have been limited by the constraints of a global itinerary.

They have played just 33 ODIs since the start of 2020, which is very low in comparison to 98 ODIs played between the end of a disastrous 2015 Cricket World Cup and the final four years later. England has not clinched an ODI series in four attempts since their win against the Netherlands in June last year. This includes losses to India, Australia and South Africa. Their run of five losses in a row ended only after a win against Proteas last month.

Bangladesh's conditions would not be easy to conquer for England. Bangladesh has not lost an ODI series at home since 2016 and it was England who defeated them back then. Bangladesh recently defeated India 2-1 in the ODI series in December. But Buttler said that the series, their last overseas assignment before World Cup, is a great challenge for them.

"It will be a great challenge for us. Obviously, Bangladesh is very tough to beat in their home conditions, they beat India as well. So 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. This can be a great measure of where we are as a team," said Buttler as quoted by ESPNCricinfo upon arrival to Dhaka.

"We are 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," added the skipper.

The ongoing tour of New Zealand has restricted the availability of England's multi-format players and some players are honouring their T20 franchise commitments. In this situation, England finds itself unable to play its first-choice playing XI.

But there is an opportunity for pace spearhead Jofra Archer to fine-tune himself following a comeback series against South Africa. He and Mark Wood will be a huge threat with their pace even though the conditions do not suit them, feels Buttler.

"Generally the wicket will be slower, but guys like Jofra and Mark Wood have fantastic airspeed, so someone who can bowl with such pace on these wickets is still a handful. It is 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 ... we have a nice balanced attack," said the skipper.

The squad has been boosted by the addition of Surrey all-rounder Will Jacks, who was flown in after being an unused reserve during the New Zealand tour. He could pose a challenge for a spot in the top order, considering the fact that he did well in the recently concluded SA20 League in South Africa and regular opener Jason Roy has struggled with form over the last few months.

Another uncapped player is Rehan Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg-spinner who took a five-wicket haul in his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi. He will also get to work with veteran spinner Adil Rashid, which Buttler thinks will help in Rehan's development as a player.

"Rehan is a really exciting talent," he said. "He is still a very young man, just a teenager, so we are excited about his development and where we think he can go."

"It is great to have him in and around the England set-up. Adil Rashid has been such a star performer for us for a long, long period of time, so getting to spend time with him and discussing bowling and watching each other bowl will be a huge benefit to him, and the biggest stage in his development."

"We are really excited for someone with so much talent, not just with the ball but with the bat as well. So we look forward to watching him develop and hopefully turning himself into a brilliant international cricketer," Buttler concluded his point.

England has built a great reputation and fear among other teams due to their aggressive white ball, with Buttler leading the side from the front when they smashed a world-record 498 runs against Netherlands. But he said that his side's approach does not mean that they are swinging for the fences at every chance.

"We always try and be as aggressive as we can. The misconception is that we are aiming for 400 every time, whereas it is more about trying to push the boundaries of what is expected on the day and not settling for par. We are trying to push the envelope higher. If the maximum that the wicket allows us is 100, can we try and score 100, instead of 80?"

"We are just trying to assess the conditions and imprint our game as much as we can. Of course, you have to understand conditions, but we have always been more on the positive side as opposed to the more negative side," added the skipper.

For the hosts, one of their proudest moments in sport was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and knocking out England out of the competition after a 15-run win at Adelaide. Buttler was also a part of the match, which is regarded as a catalyst for change in the team's batting approach, which helped them win the trophy four years later.

Buttler acknowledged that the match was a turning point for his side, but the change was going to come regardless.

But while Buttler acknowledged that that game is seen as a turning point in his team's fortunes, he also believes that the change was coming regardless.

"Even if we has won that game in 2015, we would have fallen down not far after. Looking back, we were quite a way behind the rest of the teams in the world at that stage. It was very obvious post that World Cup that we had to change the way we played, and try and be at the forefront of where the game was going as opposed to trying to catch up." "I think we would have got to that point regardless, but obviously losing that match and being knocked out of the World Cup at that stage is absolutely now looked back at as that real turning point for English cricket. But I am sure we would have been found out not long after, had we managed to get through that game," concluded the skipper.

The series will consist of three ODIs and three T20Is to be played from March 1-14 and World Cup is looming large. Buttler recognises the importance of these matches, saying, "All our preparation is geared towards that World Cup. These are the conditions that will probably be the closest that we can get to playing in India. We only have these matches, and then we do not play again until September just before the World Cup, so it is a great challenge for us and we're excited about the series," signed off the skipper. (ANI)