England in Bangladesh: Jos Buttler defends tourists' selections after Tigers clinch series
- Published
England's series in Bangladesh is their first in T20s since they won the World Cup last year
Captain Jos Buttler defended England's selections after defeat in the second T20 condemned them to a series loss against Bangladesh.
England's batting struggled again on Sunday as they were bowled out for 117 in the hosts' four-wicket win.
England lost Tom Abell and Will Jacks to injury before the series but did not call-up replacements.
Buttler said England wanted players to get "exposure" before the 50-over World Cup later this year.
"It's a different balance and a different feel to the team," he said.
"We wanted 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."
On another spinning surface, similar to the conditions England will likely find in the longer white-ball format in India in October and November, England collapsed from 50-1 after six overs to be dismissed off the final ball of the innings in Mirpur.
Moeen Ali hit 15 at number three while Sam Curran scored 12 at six, both higher in the order than they batted in England's T20 World Cup win before Christmas.
From their victorious squad England are also without Ben Stokes and Harry Brook because of Test commitments, plus opener Alex Hales who has opted to fulfil his Pakistan Super League contract.
"The way cricket is at the moment, there's a few players who've opted not to be here anyway for various reasons, so it felt like instead of calling someone else up, try to use the guys who would be exposed to these conditions in the 50-over World Cup as well."
The T20 series concludes with the third match on Tuesday, also in Mirpur.
Archer a 'real plus for England'
One positive in defeat was Jofra Archer's bowling, as he took 4-13 in an eye-catching four-over spell.
His workloads have been carefully managed during a return from the persistent injury problems which kept him out for 22 months until his return against South Africa in January.
Archer's first two wickets came via short-pitched deliveries before a 90mph yorker removed Afif Hossain's off-stump.
"I thought that was a real plus for England today, Jofra Archer bowling at 93/94mph," said former England captain Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports. "It was a real positive sign that he is getting his pace up and believing in his body."
Archer's return has included 20 and 50-over matches but Hussain played down the prospect of Archer playing a significant part in Test cricket in the Ashes this summer.
"The challenge for England is he [Archer] will be wanted by everyone," Hussain said.
"It is a massively different step up to bowl in red-ball cricket where you have to come back for a second, third spell, go to bed and wake up the next morning as stiff as anything. I would say that is less likely and focus on his white-ball output. Anything in red-ball cricket is a bonus."
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