CT 2017, Match 1, ENG v BAN Preview: Hosts look to start tournament with a dominant performance against Bangladesh

England has had a stupendous time in the ODI arena post their shock defeat to Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It will be the same side they will face in the curtain raiser of the ICC Champions Trophy. England is a much-improved side since that game and will cruise to an easy win if they play to their potential.

Playing at home has its own advantages as England will enjoy the massive support of the crowds along with the conditions. They are coming on the back of a 2-1 series win against South Africa. It was a closely contested series but England held their nerve to clinch the contest. The team is in the right frame of mind and starts the tournament as one of the favourites. Morgan-led England will be desperate to have an ODI ICC Trophy in their cabinet.

Bangladesh hasn’t had the right preparation coming into the tournament. They did well to amass 341 against Pakistan in their first warm-up game. Their bowling couldn’t defend that total but it gave an indication that their batsmen are in fine form till India proved it wrong. In their second warm-up clash against the defending champions, they were skittled out for 84 in pursuit of 325. Such a loss ahead of a big tournament can be demoralising. Mashrafe Mortaza has to lift the confidence of the side by motivating his troops.

Toss: England won the toss and opted to field

Captains speak

Mashrafe Mortaza: ‘We would have bowled first as well. There will be some swing early on, we need to put up a good score on the board. We are excited about the game, they will start as favourites, but we will not fear them. We will look to play hard.’

Eoin Morgan: ‘We will bowl first. It’s a 10:30 start, if there’s anything in the wicket, it will be useful to bowl then. Everyone’s are fit, but we are going with four seamers. Jake Ball replaces Adil Rashid. Jason looked good in the nets, playing in his home ground – he should be back into form. We can hopefully continue the momentum through the tournament.’

Playing XI:

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Jake Ball

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain

Focus will be on:

Moeen Ali

The English all-rounder has had remarkable success with both bat and ball. He is a crucial cog in the wheels of England. His 77* against South Africa in the first ODI last week, which came off just 51 balls showed what he could do at the back end of an innings. The 29-year old followed it up with a smart 2/50 with the ball to win the Man of the Match award for his brilliant all-round performance. Moeen is a regular bits and pieces cricketer, who can be world class on his day. England is banking on Ali to play a significant hand in the tournament.

Mahmudullah

It was this 31-year old’s brilliant 103 which knocked England out of the 2015 World Cup. Bangladesh must bat him higher up the order like he did in 2015. He has all the attributes of playing the long innings whilst the others bat around him. Mahmudullah is in decent form getting 3 forty plus scores in England recently. He has the experience and temperament to handle world class bowlers.

Team Combination

England

After a rare disappointing performance from their top order in the 3rd ODI against South Africa, England will be hoping that it was an aberration. They have backed Jason Roy, who hasn’t got decent scores under his belt going into the tournament, to come good in the company of fellow opener Alex Hales. Root and Morgan take care of the middle order with all their experience and finesse. The likes of Stokes, Buttler and Ali can gather quick runs towards the end of the innings. All in all, England’s batting line-up is as good as it gets.

Mark Wood and Chris Woakes will be the attack leaders. They can bowl at pace and swing the ball early in an innings. The spin department is looked after by Ali and Adil Rashid – who gives the ball a fair rip. Apart from batting and bowling, this English side is an exceptionally good fielding team.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh needs to address their top order woes. The likes of Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman will have to step up and ensure that Bangladesh does not lose too many wickets upfront. Mushfiqur and Shakib are experienced players who are capable of grating runs in the middle overs. Mahmudullah can give stability and fluency at No. 6.

Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has to do a job with the new ball. He will share the new ball with Rubel Hossain, who hurries the batsmen due to his pace. Rubel is a great exponent of the yorker and should be used in the death overs. Mehedi Hasan, in his short international career, leads the spin attack. He is a canny bowler who can bowl economically. Mustafizur Rahman has been a revelation for Bangladesh in the last 2 years. He will unleash those cutters and yorkers at the end of an innings to bemuse batsmen.

Stat Attack

1- Century will give Morgan the joint record number of centuries scored by an England batsman in ODI cricket. Marcus Trescothick has 12 centuries.

50- runs required by Tamim Iqbal to reach 5,500 ODI runs. He will be the first Bangladeshi batsman to do that.

20- This will be the 20th time both teams will face each other in ODI cricket. Bangladesh has won 4 and lost 15 games so far against England.