England lost the chance to complete a series sweep by losing the final ODI against Bangladesh, but Jos Buttler said that long-term planning was more beneficial than short-term tweaking in the ODI World Cup year. England suffered a 50-run defeat to Bangladesh in the third ODI in Chattogram, after winning the first match by three wickets and the second game by 132 runs in Mirpur.
Buttler made two changes to his team for Monday’s game: 18-year-old leg spinner Rehan Ahmed made his white-ball debut and took a wicket, and Sam Curran was promoted to No. 5 in the batting order, scoring 23 runs off 49 balls. England have already become the first away team to win a bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh since Buttler’s 2-1 victory in 2016-17.
“We changed a few things today and gave an opportunity to people in different ways, but I thought the intensity was still there,” Buttler told reporters.
“There was an opportunity to give Rehan a debut, and for Sam to bat at No. 5, and this is the last ODI we play now until September. So, especially in these conditions, it felt like a great chance to gather as much information as we can, and expose people to different situations. If we lost the game, then so be it.”
“Looking back to the T20 World Cup, we probably went into that World Cup having never played our perceived best XI. But then to get into the tournament and go on to win it, that gives you great confidence that, even though we haven’t had the opportunities to always play our best team, international cricket has become [more] focused on the ICC tournaments. I think that’s the way we’re building toward that. And we know that, come to the World Cup, we will have the opportunity to pick from everyone who’s available.”
