Jos Buttler Gives Update On the Availability of Ben Stokes' For Match Against Bangladesh
The captain of the England cricket team, Jos Buttler, has his "fingers crossed" that players avoid serious injury in their World Cup clash against Bangladesh on a Dharamshala surface he described as "poor". The notoriously sandy and bare outfield at the picturesque Himalayan ground has already come under fire at the tournament. The coach of Afghanistan, Jonathan Trott, claimed Mujeeb Ur Rehman could have suffered a serious injury when his knee jarred in the ground as he dived while fielding in Saturday's loss to Bangladesh. Buttler said on Monday that "it's poor in my opinion.”
He said, "I think any time you're sort of talking about being careful diving when you're fielding, it goes against everything you want to be as a team. We won't use it as an excuse; we'll adapt to it. But if you feel like you have to hold yourself back, it's not a place you want to be as a team or player, or in a World Cup match."
The International Cricket Council inspected the surface at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in the aftermath of Saturday's game. They deemed it "average" but playable.