England will wait on Jos Buttler fitness ahead of Ageas Bowl Cricket World Cup clash with West Indies

England will monitor Jos Buttler over the coming days and are likely to leave it late before deciding whether or not he is fit to take on the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl on Friday.
Jonny Bairstow was behind the stumps during the win on Saturday in Cardiff. Picture: Harry Trump/Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow was behind the stumps during the win on Saturday in Cardiff. Picture: Harry Trump/Getty Images
Jonny Bairstow was behind the stumps during the win on Saturday in Cardiff. Picture: Harry Trump/Getty Images

Jonny Bairstow was called on to take the wicketkeeping gloves for the Bangladesh innings on Saturday, with Buttler resting after injuring his right hip while batting.

Whoever ends up behind the stumps can expect a busy shift, with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood both hitting 95mph against Bangladesh as England got the victory by 106 runs, with Ben Stokes not far behind.

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Bairstow enjoyed taking on the role and feels the work of the bowlers is providing fantastic entertainment for the fans during the ICC Cricket World Cup so far.

He said: ‘It was good to be standing a long way back. It's great to have that theatre in the game.

‘You've got three guys who touched 90mph in our bowling attack and then Chris Woakes touched 87.

‘It’s a good place to be when good all the lads are firing.’

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It was a calm start with the bat that put England on the road to victory against Bangladesh.

The World Cup hosts posted a heavy first-innings total of 386 for eight at Cardiff, the highest of the tournament to date, building around a century opening stand between Bairstow and Jason Roy.

The latter went on to dominate proceedings, smashing five of his side’s 14 sixes in a bruising knock of 153, but there was plenty of hard work to do before the floodgates opened.

The pair were unusually cautious against the new ball, mindful not to lose an early wicket for the third game in a row, but hit the accelerator once set.

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‘We had 15 off five overs, I wouldn’t exactly say we were “going off” at the start,’ admitted Bairstow, who took nine deliveries to get off the mark then reached a run-a-ball half-century.

‘It was one of the slowest starts we’ve had but to then catch up and play in the way we did, it wasn’t a case of running down the wicket trying to slog it, they were just good cricket shots.

‘I think we’ve played better but there’s always going to be things you try to improve on.’