England head coach Trevor Bayliss backs Jos Buttler over Bangladesh feud
Tuesday 11 October 2016 08:15, UK
Trevor Bayliss says England skipper Jos Buttler needs to be careful over his conduct but defended his passionate nature.
Buttler was given an official reprimand for his angry exchange with several Bangladesh fielders on Sunday, while his opposite number Mashrafe Mortaza and batsman Sabbir Rahman were fined 20 per cent of their match fees for their involvement in the fracas.
All three were given one demerit point, as part of the ICC's revised code of conduct which was introduced last month, and should any of them reach four, they face being handed a suspension.
Asked about the behaviour of Buttler, skipper for the three-match series in place of the absent Eoin Morgan, England head coach Bayliss said: "He got a slap on the wrist and I am sure he will be doing his best to stay out of trouble in the future.
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"I haven't read the match referee's report but the (Bangladesh players) were fined and Jos was warned for retaliating and that in itself tells a bit of a story. I think Jos wearing the captain's hat was not going to take it lying down.
"You only have to watch some of our pre-match football matches to see the passion he has got. I have no qualms about the passion he shows. He has to be a little more careful about how he reacts.
"We have got to be on the look out to make sure it does not distract us from the way we want to play the game and concentrating on what we do. We have spoken about it before when the Pakistan series started and there will probably be a reminder from the coach leading into the third game.
"But we are not going to back down from anything and certainly we have some characters in the team who will not back down."
There was further controversy at the end of the match when the players were shaking hands as Buttler's deputy Ben Stokes seemed to confront Tamim Iqbal.
Reports suggested the Bangladesh batsman had shoulder barged Jonny Bairstow but Bayliss said England's vice-captain for the series was reacting to separate remarks made against the tourists.
Bayliss added: "There were some other comment made, nothing to do with the report. Stokesy to his credit was the one trying to get clarification on what they actually meant. It was not directed at him personally but he was the one standing up for his team-mates."
With the series teed up nicely for Wednesday's third and final one-day showdown, Bayliss suggested that if either side continued the feud, it would have a detrimental impact on their chances of glory.
He said: "It is a deciding game. I don't think that incident in the last game will have too much effect. They are professional players. They have all been through it before.
"I think if anyone gets caught up in that type of thing, it will be an advantage to the other team."
