By Frank Dalleres
England captain Jos Buttler has voiced his fears that a “poor” pitch at Dharamshala could damage the integrity of the Cricket World Cup.
The holders are due to play their second match of the tournament against Bangladesh at the striking HPCA Stadium in the shadow of the Himalayas on Tuesday.
Governing body the International Cricket Council designated the pitch quality “average” in Saturday’s match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, despite the sandy surface, which drew complaints from former England batter and now Afghan coach Jonathan Trott.
“I think it’s poor, in my own opinion. It’s not as good as it could be or should be. 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,” said Buttler.
“The powers that be are comfortable. The only thing I would question is, if you are telling players not to dive does that question the integrity of the game? The worst-case scenario is something bad happens, but fingers crossed that doesn’t happen for both teams.”
England need a response against Bangladesh, having lost Thursday’s opener with New Zealand by nine wickets, so Buttler is unhappy at the idea of having to hold back because of the pitch.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
England are set to be without Ben Stokes again as the talismanic all-rounder rebuilds his fitness following a hip injury, but he could return to face Afghanistan at the weekend.
Buttler said: “It’s good to see him back in the nets and building back towards full fitness but he’s probably unlikely for tomorrow.”
