England ‘happy favourites’ against Sri Lanka, says Buttler

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka: England are “very happy” being favourites for the one-day series in Sri Lanka but are aware that past tours have been “tricky”, Jos Buttler said on Tuesday on the eve of the first match in Dambulla.

Sri Lanka’s captain Dinesh Chandimal warned meanwhile that conditions were “very different” to England, with some “mystery spinners” who could pose problems for Eoin Morgan’s batsmen.

“Very happy being favourites. It shows we’ve been doing good stuff and I like being favourites,” Buttler told reporters, saying the team were “very confident” and aiming to be “pushing the boundaries”.

The batsman added however: “We’re very aware of Sri Lanka’s qualities in these conditions. They have some experienced players... It’s been tricky in the past for England sides to come here.” He added that being the numberone ranked one-day side ahead of next year’s World Cup on home soil brought its own pressures. “There is always pressure being number one. Once you get there, I think that’s when the hard work really starts. You’ve got a bit of a target on your back. “It is down to you to keep improving and try to stay there. That’s the challenge and it has its own pressures. I think in the dressing room we have a good understanding... and know that we need to keep improving and pushing the boundaries.” Buttler said the World Cup was in the back of everyone’s mind, but they were taking every series one at a time and hoped to build a core group of players for next year’s championship. “It’s about trending in the right way and being able to build a core group of players — a squad of 15, 16, 17 guys — who we can call upon hopefully for the World Cup,” he said.