England’s ODI and T20 tour of Bangladesh, with Buttler and Mott facing criticism
“It hurts to lose 3-0,” England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott admitted at the end of an exhausting and arguably unnecessary tour of Bangladesh.
“It hurts to lose 3-0,” England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott admitted at the end of an exhausting and arguably unnecessary tour of Bangladesh.
Whatever progress England had made in the 50-over format by defeating Bangladesh 2-1 – a commendable achievement given the Tigers’ previous seven consecutive ODI series victories at home – had been undone in a desperate three-match T20 series in which England’s selection and scheduling issues all came to a head. They were thoroughly beaten and looked nothing like the T20 world champions they are.
“On that 50-over series, we were really proud of our one-day win because it was a massive effort,” Mott said. “However, finishing the way we did will leave a sour taste in the mouth.”
Mott and his captain, Jos Buttler, are now faced with a number of dilemmas as they prepare for the 50-over World Cup in India, which begins in October this year, and the next T20 World Cup, which will be held in June 2024.
Here are the winners and losers from a disappointing England tour.
Results on England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh
- 1st ODI, Mirpur (March 1): England won by three wickets
- 2nd ODI, Mirpur (March 3): England won by 132 runs
- 3rd ODI, Chattogram (March 6): Bangladesh won by 50 runs
England win ODI series 2-1
- 1st T20, Chattogram (March 9): Bangladesh won by six wickets
- 2nd T20, Mirpur (March 12): Bangladesh won by four wickets
- 3rd T20, Mirpur (March 14): Bangladesh won by 16 runs
Bangladesh win T20 series 3-0
WINNERS
Dawid Malan
Malan’s innings in the first ODI in Mirpur was undoubtedly the best of the tour from an English perspective.
Malan played with poise and maturity on a slick pitch, with England trailing by six wickets at 65/4 chasing a modest 209 target. The left-hander displayed patience rarely seen in an England white-ball team these days, but it was exactly what the situation required. He finished with a magnificent 114 not out from 145 balls, scoring more than half of England’s runs to lead them to victory.
Mott, Buttler, Rob Key, and the selectors are unsure where Malan fits into the England white-ball picture right now. He appears to be more at home in the 50-over format, but he has been a consistent performer in T20 cricket for several years, and he made a sparky 53 in the final T20 to bolster his case.
With Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, and Jonny Bairstow all set to return after missing out on the Bangladesh series, Malan remains difficult to overlook.
Jofra Archer
The sight of Archer continuing his recovery and steaming in to bowl was one of the few positives for England fans watching the Bangladesh matches on television.
He was gradually reintroduced to the squad, making two appearances in the three-match 50-over series in South Africa at the end of January. Archer added nine more wickets in five games across two Bangladesh series after taking 6/40 in only his second match back in an England shirt. He was denied a scalp by a shocking Ben Duckett drop in the deep in the one game where he finished wickletless, but he still bowled a crucial miserly over at the death.
England has arguably the best white-ball bowler in the world in Archer. Few can match his powerplay wicket-taking ability with his dead-eyed accuracy at the death.
LOSERS
Jos Buttler & Matthew Mott
This series had more losers than winners, and the spotlight is once again on the leadership duo of Buttler and Mott following a sloppy England tour. The fielding was poor in the final T20 defeat, and the batting was poor for the majority of the T20 series, but the seeds of chaos were sown when England chose not to call up an extra batter when Will Jacks and Tom Abell were ruled out of the tour due to injury.
It was bad enough that England had already let Jason Roy, who had returned to form during the 50-over matches, go to the PSL. James Vince was also let go. As a result, England batted only five times in three T20s, with Sam Curran at number six and Chris Woakes at number seven.
Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, was unimpressed. “If as an England cricket team, we can’t put an extra batter or two on the field in Bangladesh… “I don’t think saying ‘we’re one batter short’ is enough,” he said on Sky Sports.
Buttler defended his selections, arguing it was “a great chance to expose the all-rounders’ batting, maybe one spot higher than in our normal team”.
But there was a sense that England didn’t treat the series with the utmost respect – and they paid the price. Buttler’s batting form has been solid enough (he scored 222 runs in six matches), but questions about his leadership remain.
Moeen Ali
Some have questioned the veteran all-performance rounder’s with bat and ball in both the 50-over and T20 series.
He’s been a cornerstone of England’s white-ball side for nearly a decade, but he was out-bowled by Bangladesh spinners on the turning subcontinental tracks and failed to score more than 15 runs on the tour.
Moeen will be 36 by the time England’s next white-ball match, but he appears destined to play in this year’s World Cup. However, with Rehan Ahmed on the rise, it may not be long before the Worcestershire all-rounder is replaced by the selectors.
Chris Woakes
Another experienced England player who underperformed in Bangladesh was Woakes. In both series, he only took two wickets and scored 55 runs despite being promoted up the batting order.
When the white ball is swinging early on, the 34-year-old is a valuable asset to England’s bowling attack. However, in Bangladesh, where off-cutters and slower ball variations are the norm, he was found wanting.
Despite his advanced age and patchy form, you get the impression that England will pick Moeen in India for the World Cup.
However, Woakes is ahead of the likes of Mark Wood, Curran, and Archer in the seam bowling pecking order. He is competing for a support role with Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood, and Chris Jordan.
What next?
For England’s white-ball squad, all roads now lead to India. The Test team will play Ireland in June before the Ashes, but Buttler’s ODI team will not play until September 8 against New Zealand, by which time a squad will have been selected for the World Cup, which begins in October.
They play four T20s and one ODI against New Zealand before a three-match ODI series against Ireland at the end of the summer. The tournament then begins, with England attempting to defend their title from 2019.
England’s next white-ball fixtures
- 1st T20, Chester-le-Street (August 30) vs New Zealand
- 2nd T20, Old Trafford (September 1) vs New Zealand
- 3rd T20, Edgbaston (September 3) vs New Zealand
- 4th T20, Trent Bridge (September 5) vs New Zealand
- 1st ODI, Cardiff (September 8) vs New Zealand
- 2nd ODI, Southampton (September 10) vs New Zealand
- 3rd ODI, The Oval (September 13) vs New Zealand
- 4th ODI, Lord’s (September 15) vs New Zealand
- 1st ODI, Headingley (September 20) vs Ireland
- 2nd ODI, Trent Bridge (September 23) vs Ireland
- 3rd ODI, Bristol (September 26) vs Ireland
It’s unclear whether Stokes will come out of retirement for the World Cup, and Joe Root hasn’t played a 50-over match since July of last year. Brook and Bairstow will be fit and available but have played very little 50-over cricket for England recently. Liam Livingstone will try to recover from knee and ankle injuries.
Predicted England XI for the World Cup: Bairstow, Roy, Malan, Brook, Buttler, Livingstone, Ali, Curran, Rashid, Archer, Wood.
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