England to be given strict orders in bid for World Cup redemption vs Bangladesh
England have been warned about running through a Dharamsala ‘bunker’ amid fears for their fast bowlers’ joints.
The ground played host to Bangladesh’s six-wicket win over Afghanistan on Saturday, but it brought back memories of the abandoned match in Antigua back in 2009 when the outfield was more sand than grass and fast bowlers couldn’t run up properly. There was plenty of sand being kicked up again this time round, but it was just about good enough for the game to be played, and it is hoped there won’t be any objections come Tuesday.
If the game does go ahead there will be strict instructions from the England medical staff for players to avoid sliding in the field where their knees could easily get caught in the turf and cause serious injury, just like it did for fast bowler Simon Jones in the Ashes.
“They’ll be telling their fielders not to slide in with their knees or face them getting stuck in the turf,” said former skipper turned pundit Nasser Hussain who was in charge on the 2002/03 Ashes tour. “Remember Simon Jones back in Brisbane in 2003. We don’t want to see a repeat of that.
“You’ve got Ben Stokes with his knee problem, you’ve got Mark Wood with his dodgy knees and ankles and everything, you don’t want to risk sliding on this turf. It is great that they are playing two pitches down because you can see how the sand is being churned up in the bowlers' run ups. It would be like running into bowl through a bunker.”
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The last thing England would want is to see their first chance of redemption taken away, especially on a ground that could have a rather familiar feel to it. A pitch with good pace and bounce will suit their bowlers and with the ball coming onto the bat, the smaller boundaries should also provide the perfect environment for England’s batters to get back to their big hitting best.
Jos Buttler of England cuts a dejected figure after their defeat by New ZealandIt was on this ground earlier this year that Liam Livingstone made his highest score of 94 in the IPL with nine sixes as part of his innings, and he reckons that is exactly what he and his teammates will be trying to do against Bangladesh.
"It's an incredible ground and an incredible place to bat if it’s anything like it was on that day,” said Livingstone. "It's always nice to go back somewhere you've got good memories, and conditions here should suit us, the boys are really excited.
“We want to get over what happened the other day and almost go twice as hard. We want to put on a really good show and get things kick-started in this tournament. Because of the altitude the ball just flies really well, it's a good place to bat. You can feel it, it makes you more confident to take on the boundaries, and they aren't that big here anyway. It's probably as English a pitch as there is out here which will probably suit us more than many grounds around the country.”
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