Jos Buttler has ‘no regrets’ over England alterations despite ODI defeat

Jos Buttler stood by England’s decision to deviate from the tried and trusted despite losing to Bangladesh, who avoided a one-day international series whitewash with a 50-run win at Chattogram.
There was a slightly experimental feel to this dead rubber as the debuting Rehan Ahmed was the only Englishman to bowl his full allotment, while champion leg-spinner Adil Rashid sent down just five overs.
Sam Curran was also promoted to number five in the batting order, having featured exclusively at seven or eight in his previous 15 ODIs, pushed up ahead of England captain Buttler and his deputy Moeen Ali.
YES REHAN! 🙌
A first ODI wicket for England!
📺 Sign up now for free LIVE coverage of all the action
🔗 https://t.co/L2da4PkS1e pic.twitter.com/gP7wiijPfd
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 6, 2023
The tweaks had modest success as Ahmed took one for 62 after becoming England’s youngest men’s ODI player and Curran hit 23 off 49 balls as the tourists, chasing 247, were all out for 196 in 43.1 overs.
“(I have) no regrets at all,” Buttler said. “I thought it made sense to give Rehan the opportunity to bowl – to see him bowl and bowl to good players, put him under a bit of pressure which is great.
“I thought he did really well. He doesn’t lack confidence, he’s very trusting in his ability, which is fantastic for a young guy. He was willing to bowl to very aggressive fields and challenge himself, which is a great sign moving forward. For a guy on debut, I thought he handled himself brilliantly well.
“It was absolutely an opportunity to give Rehan his debut, for Sam to bat at number five. I see huge potential in Sam Curran’s batting.
“It was a chance to gather as much information as we possibly can and expose people to different situations. If we lost the game, then so be it, but I believed we had a team and performance that could have won the game.”

Having sealed a 2-1 series win, England now do not have another ODI lined up until September, when the defence of their World Cup crown in India will be a matter of weeks away.
Buttler intimated ahead of this series he had an inkling of his best line-up and, while that remains the case, he thinks England have plenty of options to call upon later this year.
“You have an idea but there’s a long time before that point as well,” Buttler said. “I’m sure there’ll be things that happen along the course of time that may change, but we’re in a really strong position.
“We have a lot of really talented players, some very experienced players who are not here at the moment as well, so we’re going to have a really tough squad to pick.”
Buttler and white-ball head coach Matthew Mott have rarely been able to draft a full-strength squad in ODIs or T20s due to injuries and priority being given to the Test team amid a hectic fixture programme.

However, Buttler is aware it was a similar situation last year in the months leading up to the T20 World Cup, with the big guns restored to the side in a tournament England went on to win.
“The schedule is hugely challenging to get your best XI on the field,” Buttler added. “Looking back to the T20 World Cup, we probably went in having never played our perceived best XI.
“We had to get into the tournament and went on to win it, it gives you great confidence even though we haven’t had the opportunities to always play our best team for a while.
“International cricket has become just more focused on the ICC tournaments and we are building towards that. We know comes the World Cup we will have the opportunity to pick from everyone who is available.”
Latest
-
County Cricket
Middlesex relegated from Division One as Kent survive on dramatic final day
Middlesex fell just short of the victory they needed at Nottinghamshire to stay up instead of Kent.
-
India
England captain Jos Buttler believes India are favourites for World Cup
The last three editions of the Cricket World Cup – India in 2011, Australia in 2015 and England in 2019 – have been won by the host nation.
-
County Cricket
Surrey retain County Championship title after Essex batting collapse
The holders have been crowned champions for the 21st time.
-
County Cricket
Geoffrey Boycott: Everybody in Newcastle hates Mike Ashley amid Headingley links
The PA news agency understands the Frasers Group, where Ashley is chief executive, is one of the parties interested in purchasing Headingley.
-
County Cricket
Essex’s slim hopes of winning County Championship dented by Northamptonshire
Essex need at least 400 to have any chance of claiming top spot.
-
England
Matthew Mott: Jofra Archer ‘desperate to play but realistic’ ahead of World Cup
The 28-year-old is not expected to be ready to return to action until the tournament is close to a conclusion.
-
County Cricket
Umpire Sue Redfern makes history in County Championship match at Glamorgan
Redfern became the first woman to stand as an umpire in a men’s first-class match in England and Wales.
-
England
England’s summer ends in soggy fashion and prompts a call for innovation
The one-day international against Ireland at Bristol was abandoned.
-
England
England win ODI series against Ireland after play is abandoned at Bristol
Ben Duckett had scored a century and Phil Salt 61 off just 28 balls before rain stopped play.