Chittagong: England’s Jos Buttler admitted to being “anxious” about captaining the side for their controversial one-day international tour of Bangladesh, before coming away with a thrilling series win. Buttler was named skipper after regular one-day captain Eoin Morgan decided against going on the tour after Islamist militants earlier this year attacked and killed 22 mostly foreign hostages at a Dhaka cafe.
Security concerns have hung over the series, with the massacre casting doubt on whether Bangladesh’s security forces could guarantee the England team’s safety. But Buttler said the tour had been fantastic so far and praised his players for a gritty performance on Wednesday to defeat Bangladesh by four wickets and clinch the series 2-1. “I think we showed immense character,” Buttler said after the match that saw England restrict the home side to 277-6 and hit the winning runs with 13 balls to spare.
“I was nervous and anxious a little bit about doing it but I think I enjoyed the role to come away with a series win,” he said of his role as captain. “I don’t think we can underestimate what we have achieved here. It’s a tough place to come. It’s been a fantastic tour. “The crowd has been fantastic and we have been looked after brilliantly. “We are a pretty young and inexperienced team, we will learn a lot from here,” he added.
Sam Billings, playing in his first match of the series, hit 62 while Ben Duckett made 63, his second half-century of the series, to settle England early on in a relatively tough chase. But two wickets each by Shafiul Islam and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza kept the home side in contention, before Ben Stokes (47 not out) and Chris Woakes (27 not out) took England home comfortably.
