England frustrated by ‘poor’ outfield as Jos Buttler raises World Cup integrity concerns
Buttler’s side are looking to get their campaign on track in Dharamshala, having been hammered by New Zealand in their opening match on Thursday.
There have been serious concerns, though, about the patchy state of the outfield at the HPCA Stadium, which has been rated only “average” by ICC officials.
The ground was inspected on Sunday and match referee Javagal Srinath has agreed that it is playable but England are frustrated at the situation, with suggestions that players may have to be cautious in the field in order to avoid injury.
“The powers that be are comfortable,” captain Buttler told the BBC. “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?
“Worst-case scenario is something bad happens, but fingers crossed that doesn’t happen for both teams.”
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was fortunate to escape injury at the ground when jarring his knee in the surface while fielding during Friday’s match against Bangladesh.
Concerns: England duo Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler inspect the outfield at the HPCA Stadium
/ Getty ImagesJonathan Trott, the former England batter, is Afghanistan’s head coach and has spoken to the England camp about his own concerns.
“I think it’s poor, in my own opinion,” Buttler said in his pre-match press conference. “It’s not as good as it could be or should be.
“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.
“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.
“You want to dive through a row of houses to save a run. So it’s obviously not ideal, the way the surface is.
“I think it’s definitely one where you’re going to have to be a little bit careful, which isn’t what you want to be doing when you’re playing for your country. You want to put your body on the line and be trying to save every single run and have confidence in the field.”
England are set to be without Ben Stokes again against Bangladesh, with the 32-year-old still sidelined by the hip problem that ruled him out of the New Zealand game.
Stokes netted on Sunday and again on Monday but England are taking a cautious approach with their talisman.
“It’s good to see him back in the nets and building back towards full fitness but he’s probably unlikely for tomorrow,” Buttler added.
