England captain Jos Buttler soaked up the disappointment of a T20I series defeat to Bangladesh and insisted it had been worth trialling a team light on frontline batters.
With Tom Abell and Will Jacks unavailable due to injury, England might have sent for batting reinforcements but instead elected to persevere with their weakened unit.
It meant Moeen Ali batted at three on Sunday, with Sam Curran at six, both bumped up higher than they would usually be expected to figure in the order.
Moeen made 15 and Curran added 12 in a feeble 117 all out, with Buttler dropping down from playing as an opener to bat at number four, where he scored only four.
Bangladesh won by four wickets, with Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting 46no, leaving Buttler to face questions about England’s performance, and their selections.
“It’s a different balance and it’s a different feel to the team,” he said. “I think we’re wanting to give exposure to guys especially who, in these conditions, will also probably play a part in the 50-over World Cup.
“It felt like a great chance to expose the all-rounders’ batting, maybe one spot higher than in our normal team.
“The way cricket is at the moment, there’s a few players who’ve opted not to be here anyway for various reasons. So instead of calling up someone else, we tried to use the guys who would be exposed to these conditions in the 50-over World Cup as well.”
Regarding his own move in the line-up, perhaps intended to beef up the middle order, Buttler said: “I’m very comfortable batting anywhere in the order.
“I’ve spent a hell of a lot of my career as a middle order player, and I think we’ve got some good options. I just felt like it would be an opportunity to try something different.”
England will hope for a better outcome in Tuesday’s final match, but Bangladesh’s wins in Chattogram and Mirpur mean the tourists are playing for mere consolation.
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