Early on Tuesday morning (06:00), England look to finally get their World Cup campaign underway, after a disappointing opening defeat to New Zealand. Here, they take on Bangladesh in the beautiful Dharamshala and simply have to win. We’ve previewed the fixture and given you our best bets.
England vs Bangladesh Betting Tips
It was like the England (2/11) of old at times on Thursday, with some lacklustre batting and uninspired bowling, channelling memories of previous World Cup failures in the 80’s and 90’s.
What made it doubly galling was seeing every single England batter get a start, with all 11 players reaching double figures before surrendering their wicket, often to a really poor shot.
When Jonny Bairstow nonchalantly flicked Trent Boult for six off his pads off the second ball, it looked as though the spirit of Bazball was alive and well in the white ball format. However, wickets continued to fall and when Liam Livingstone chipped one up to long on, you got the feeling that this was a side lacking confidence and preparation.
Their total of 282 was comfortably under par but take nothing away from New Zealand, if they were impressive with the ball, they were absolutely magnificent with the bat.
Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) put on an unbeaten 273 for the 2nd wicket partnership and never seriously looked troubled. We have of course seen Conway’s brilliance before but Ravindra looks a special, special talent.
And so, a instant response is needed and the beauty of this World Cup format is the longevity of the group stage. If this were a super-six round robin, England would be in deep trouble but with eight more games to play, they have plenty of time to secure a top-four spot.
They can start with another tough looking game against a talented Bangladesh (18/5), that comfortably dispatched a disappointing Afghanistan side at the weekend.
Shakib Al Hasan lead from the front, with his namesake Mehidy Hasan, as both spinners picked up three wickets apiece to stunt the Afghan batting effort. The latter then contributed equally with the bat, as his 57, along with Najmul Shanto’s unbeaten 59, saw the Tigers easily chase down a lame 156 target.
Bangladesh have only beaten England five times from 24 ODI’s but this looks as good a time as any to catch the defending champions cold.
Team news
The outfield at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala has been inspected and cleared for play, after concerns raised during the Afghanistan – Bangladesh game. An injury to Mujeeb Ur Rahman was initially attributed to the amount of sand on the outfield and England have spoken about fielding ‘safe’ when making dives to stop the ball.
With Ben Stokes still suffering with his hip injury, it seems unlikely he will be risked here on a potential safety risk of a pitch. Reece Topley should be recalled for Moeen Ali, however, in an effort to beef up the bowling attack.
England (probable): Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c, wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.
Bangladesh are unlikely to make any changes given the comprehensive nature of their opening victory.
Bangladesh (probable): Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
England to win, have highest 1st 15 overs & hit most sixes – 8/11
Even in defeat, the England side continued to go hard at the ball.
The Three Lions hit six maximums compared to the New Zealand total of eight but Bangladesh are not a power hitting side.
The Tigers managed just one six in their victory over the Afghani’s and with Bairstow and Malan opening up, I expect England to comfortably win the 15 over bet too.
Joe Root top ENG run scorer – 3/1
The Yorkshireman looked dreadfully out of touch in the recent New Zealand series and actually asked to play against Ireland in a desperate last ditch attempt to recover some form.
One positive to take from Ahmedabad was the batting of Root, who looked to at least have recovered some of his confidence, in a lovely knock of 77.
His dismissal to Glenn Phillips, however, was a worrying reminder that sometimes the brilliant talent just needs to do the simple stuff and put away the pre-meditated scoops and reverse sweeps through the middle overs.
The 32-year-old is a sublime player of spin, something that will be more important than ever in Dharamsala against Al Hasan and co.
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