- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott had also raised concerns over the state of the outfield at the ground in Dharamsala after a player had a serious injury threat while fielding.
By: Shubham Ghosh
DEFENDING champions England have not found much reason to feel happy till now in the ICC cricket World Cup 2023 in India. First their air travel to Guwahati in north-eastern India for a warm-up match was a hectic affair, which made Jonny Bairstow write on social media, “Been some trip” with a sarcastic laughing emoji. The match against India never happened due to rain.
A few days after, the Three Lions were blown away in their opening game of the World Cup, which was also the tournament’s first, by New Zealand who they defeated in the final of the 2019 edition. The Kiwis toyed with the champions by chasing down their total of 282 with nine wickets and nearly 14 overs to spare.
And now, England captain Jos Buttler has expressed his disappointment over the “poor” state of the outfield at the Himachal Pradesh cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh where they are set to take on Bangladesh in an important clash on Tuesday (10).
Buttler, also his team’s wicket-keeper, even went on to say on the eve of the game that the venue’s outfield could compromise “the integrity of the game” when his side meets the Tigers for two crucial points.
He told reporters, “I think it’s poor, in my own opinion. 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.”
Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan in Dharamsala by six wickets on Saturday (7) after bowling them out for just 156. However, a scene of Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman facing a serious knee injury threat while fielding at the outfield raised a serious concern and Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott, a former England cricketer, spoke about it in the post-match press conference.
He also mentioned that New Zealand’s Devon Conway faced a similar experience while fielding against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, in Ahmedabad.
“If you’ve got players unsure of whether they can dive… we see the product of cricket all around the world where players are taught, encouraged to improve their fielding,” Trott said.
Match referee Javagal Srinath, a former India bowler, said he was satisfied with the outfield, which the ICC rated “average”.
The England captain, who led his country to lift the T20 World Cup in Australia last year, told the BBC: “The powers that be are comfortable… 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.
Former England captain Eoin Morgan said the outfield conditions in Dharamsala might help Bangladesh, Sky Sports reported.
“We sat back and watched Bangladesh play Afghanistan a couple of days ago here, the outfield has not changed whatsoever,” he was quoted as saying.
“The Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was asked about it today and said it was ‘fine and fit’, none of his fielders dive to stop the ball.
“[England] are coming to a World Cup and you’re asking your fielders to pull back, unnaturally, which is a bit of a concern. Bear in mind, Ben Stokes has missed the first game so I would be very, very reluctant to play him even if he is fit.
Stokes did not play the game against New Zealand due to injury and Buttler said he is unlikely to feature in the next game.
