ICC ODI World Cup: Jos Buttler slams 'poor' Dharamsala outfield, urges players to be careful

On the eve of their match against Bangladesh, Jos Buttler raised questions over the quality of Dharamasala's outfield. The earlier match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh disclosed the ugly nature of the outfield as persistent rain damaged an extent of the pitch. England will face Bangladesh on this very ground on 10 October.

3 things you need to know

• England lost to New Zealand in the opening game 
• They will face Bangladesh in Dharamshala on 10th October
• The Dharamshala ground faced criticism for its poor nature

Jos Buttler opens on the poor Dharamshala ground condition

England didn't have the desired start as New Zealand thrashed the defending champions with ease. The Three Lions will seek a winning return in the next game, but they now need to encounter a Dharamshala ground which has seen its fair share of difficulties. Afghani spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman survived a scare during a fielding effort as groundsmen appeared to have covered the damaged areas with sand. 

"I think it's poor, in my own opinion," he said. "I think any time you're talking about being careful diving, or maybe being careful when you're fielding, it goes against everything you want to be as a team.

"You want to dive through a row of houses to save a run. That's obviously not ideal, the way the surface is, the outfield. But we won't use it as an excuse. We'll adapt to it. But certainly if you feel like you're having to hold yourself back, it's not a place you want to be as a team, or as a player, or in a World Cup match."

[The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Stadium during an ODI World Cup match; Image: AP]

Buttler further insisted it is hard to hold yourself back as it's a natural instinct to go after a ball during fielding. 

"You want to put your body on the line and be trying to save every single run and have confidence in the field. It's not as good as it could be, or should be.

“Naturally, you want to be instinctive in the field: if you see a ball, you want to dive for it. So it's unique, to be honest and I know it's going to be the same for both teams. But if you're having to hold yourself back, you shouldn't have to feel like that. Hopefully, fingers crossed, no-one on either side picks up an unfortunate injury.”