Bangladesh series perfect test for defending champions England: Jos Buttler speaks on World Cup preparations

England captain Jos Buttler feels that their white-ball series against Bangladesh is the exact challenge that the world champions are looking for.

England are the first-ever team in the world to hold the ODI and the T20 World Cup together and will be looking to defend the 50-over title in India, later in the months of October and November.

Buttler, one of the most destructive batters in white-ball cricket acknowledged that Bangladesh were lethal at home and it showed when they played India recently in the 3-match ODI series.

“It’ll be a great challenge for us,” Buttler said in a press conference in Dhaka.

“Obviously Bangladesh are very tough to beat in their home conditions, they beat India as well. So this is exactly the kind of challenge we need, nearing the World Cup, to test ourselves in probably the conditions that we as a side will find the hardest. This can be a great measure of where we are as a team,” Buttler said.

“We’re expecting a slow and low wicket, which is exactly what we want, to test ourselves in tough conditions which will be great preparation for us moving forward,” the England captain spoke about the conditions that will be on offer.

The captain lauded his fast bowling unit, which could be at its full strength after many months. The batter said that Jofra Archer and Mark Wood can be quite feisty even in slow pitches, given how quick they are through the air.

“Generally the wicket will be slower, but guys like Jofra and Mark Wood have fantastic airspeed, so someone who can bowl with such pace on these wickets is still a handful. It’s not always to the benefit of the batsman. We have a nice variety in the squad. Right-arm, left-arm, high pace, guys who can swing it … we have a nice balanced attack,” Buttler said ahead of the series.