England lost the final one-day international against Bangladesh on Monday, but they learned a lot about their players. Jos Buttler chose to use the opportunity to experiment, presented by a dead rubber with the series secured.
England gambled by moving Sam Curran up the batting order to number five, where he scored 23 runs off 49 deliveries, but ultimately lost by 50 runs. The teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed bowled a complete allocation of 10 overs on his white-ball debut, taking a wicket with his final ball.
Buttler stated, “We changed a few things today and provided opportunities to individuals in various ways.” “It is the last ODI we play until September so, especially in these conditions, it was an opportunity 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 that could have won it.”
Before the series, it was speculated that Curran would bat in the top six at least once.
“We’re fortunate with a lot of all-rounders and I felt like today was a good opportunity to use them more,” Buttler said. Sam’s batting has tremendous potential, and today he had the opportunity to bat higher up the order.
Giving Ahmed 10 overs meant Adil Rashid, a senior leg-spinner, could only bowl five. “I’ve got no misgivings at all,” Buttler said. “We are aware of Adil’s superior performance. It made sense to give Rehan the chance to bowl to quality players and place him under some pressure.
“He has a lot of self-assurance and trust in his abilities, which is excellent for a young man. He was willing to bowl to very aggressive fields and challenge himself, which is a wonderful sign moving forward. For a first-time performer, he conducted himself exceptionally well.”
Shakib Al Hasan was the main man for Bangladesh, scoring 75 off 71 deliveries to haul his side to a total of 246 and then claiming four wickets. The captain, Tamim Iqbal, remarked that his batting, particularly with the tail, was exceptional.
“Those 20 or 25 runs he scored were of the utmost importance. And the pitch didn’t have a lot of spins, but his bowling was phenomenal.”
