After slipping to a 50-run defeat in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram, England captain Jos Buttler suggested that the result mattered for little after seizing an opportunity to evaluate his options that could prove successful on a surface that may be similar to those at the World Cup in India, which starts in October.
England had already secured the series victory after winning the first two games but the hosts lost the chance to complete a series sweep by losing the final ODI on Monday.
In the final ODI, England chose to go with a couple of changes in their line-up, where legspinner Rehan Ahmed made his white-ball debut, and all-rounder Sam Curran was promoted up in the batting order, coming in ahead of Buttler at No.5 and contributed 23 runs to a fourth-wicket stand of 49 with James Vince.
“We changed a few things today and gave an opportunity to people in different ways, but I thought the intensity was still there,” Buttler told reporters.
“There was an opportunity today to give Rehan a debut, and for Sam to bat at No. 5, and this is the last ODI we play now until September. So, especially in these conditions, it felt like a great chance to gather as much information as we can, and expose people to different situations. If we lost the game, then so be it.”
The English skipper added that England’s victory in the T20 World Cup in Australia had given him confidence that the squad that comes together in India in seven months’ time will be able to call upon similar experience to overcome their lack of physical preparation.
“Looking back to the T20 World Cup, we probably went into that World Cup having never played our perceived best XI. But then to get into the tournament and go on to win it, that gives you great confidence that, even though we haven’t had the opportunities to always play our best team, international cricket has become (more) focused on the ICC tournaments. I think that’s the way we’re building toward that. And we know that, come to the World Cup, we will have the opportunity to pick from everyone who’s available,” Buttler said.
