Jos Buttler has stressed the scale of the cricketing challenge facing England’s one-day team in Bangladesh next month following his appointment as captain for the three-match series.
With security issues dominating the discussion over England’s selection for the matches in Mirpur (7 and 9 October ) and Chittagong (12 October), it has passed largely unnoticed that the Tigers are seventh in the official ICC ODI world rankings, above both West Indies and Pakistan.
They are an especially formidable prospect on home territory, recording ODI series wins against India, Pakistan and South Africa in 2015 – a year that had begun with them beating England in Adelaide in the World Cup, a result that was crucial in securing their progress to the quarter finals at England’s expense.
Buttler played in that game, top-scoring with 65 in England’s unsuccessful run chase, so he has painful first-hand knowledge of the qualities of Mashrafe Mortaza’s team.
“I’m looking forward to when we arrive there, and the dust has settled, and we can start talking about the cricket again,” said the Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman after his appointment as captain had been announced.
“Bangladesh are an emerging team, they are starting to produce some fantastic cricketers, and they have a really passionate support that will get behind them in their own country.
“Their results in home conditions show how difficult they are going to be for us to beat them out there. But that’s a great challenge for us.
“I love playing in this England one-day team, it’s been such a great thing to be part of in the last 18 months. That’s why I’m so excited to be captain of the team, and if we can go to Bangladesh and do well, it will show what fantastic strides we’ve made in one-day cricket.”
After impressive and emphatic series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this summer, the Bangladesh series is the first of three on foreign soil before England return home for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
They face India in a five-match series in January, and then make a short trip to the West Indies in the spring – with the new North versus South series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi providing an additional platform for fringe players to press their claims for a Champions Trophy place.
Buttler, who has been England’s one-day vice captain since the World Cup, accepts that combining captaincy with wicketkeeping will present an additional challenge – but it is one he is confident of handling, especially with the support of his team-mates.
“I’ve been to Bangladesh three times before so I know it does get pretty noisy out there,” he added. “But that might mean it is an advantage for a wicketkeeper to be the captain – at least it means everyone will be looking at me.
“We’ve got some good cricket brains in our one-day team – maybe surprisingly, in some cases. It’s a great time to be involved in white-ball cricket with England, and a great honour to be leading this team.”
Buttler confirmed that as captain, he has also been consulted on selection of the squad – which will be announced, with the squad for the two-Test series in Bangladesh that follows, on Friday morning.
The unavailability of Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales will ensure at least a couple of fresh faces in Buttler’s squad.