After a heavy defeat against New Zealand in the ICC World Cup 2023 opener in Ahmedabad, England's next game against Bangladesh would be crucial if they wish to go ahead in the mega event as the defending champions sit last on the points table due to a negative net run rate (NRR).
England will play the Tigers at the HCPA Stadium in Dharamshala and they will have to adopt a new field plan after the outfield of the stadium was cleared by an independent pitch consultant hired by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Jos Buttler’s men trained in Dharamshala for the first time on Sunday and are aware of the problems faced by the players during the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan match.
England’s wicketkeeper batter Jonny Bairstow discussed the outfield condition and stated that his team will look to adopt a “smart” field plan to avoid injuries.
“There’s been a lot of chat about it. It’s just about being smart about it. The last thing you want is guys going off with knee injuries or something,” Bairstow said.
“It will be very difficult to hold someone back if they see a ball and they try to stop it — it’s a natural reaction to go for it. You might be a bit more clever about how you go about it — it might affect your angles and where you stand.”
It must be noted that Afghanistan’s key spinner Mujeeb ur Rehman escaped a knee injury during his side’s match against Bangladesh at the same venue.
The 22-year-old was running towards the boundary line and as he attempted a dive to stop the ball, his knee got stuck in the surface but luckily, the left-armer did not get injured.
Afghanistan’s head coach, who is England’s former player, Jonathan Trott opened up on the state of the outfield.
"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. "And when you've got players worried about getting injured… I mean, we are lucky Mujeeb hasn't got a serious knee injury towards the end.”
