Sports Desk :
Rejuvenated Bangladesh face favorite England in the first ODI of the Rocket three-match ODI series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur in the city today.
Tigers new mission will be looking for the seventh successive bilateral win as they began the three-match ODI series against England. Surprisingly Bangladesh had a grand success by remaining unbeaten for two years at home.
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has said that the national team is concerned regarding the World Cup qualification and that they are fully focused on the three ODIs that they will be playing against England from tomorrow (Friday) onwards.
In order to avoid playing the World Cup Qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup, Bangladesh need to remain in the top eight until September 30, 2017. They are currently ranked 7.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board president, Nazmul Hassan Papon, in a recent press conference had said that there was a good chance that Bangladesh will not have to play the Qualifiers regardless of the results of the series in the next one year, since as per the ICC’s ranking policy, Bangladesh are likely to remain in the top eight.
Tamim Iqbal hogged the headlines been their highest scorer during this period while Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar also played their part with full honour.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have been Bangladesh’s best bowlers but the absence of Mustafizur Rahman who is recovering from a shoulder surgery will be a big impact on the serie. Fizz ‘s participation would have put doubt on English batters with his cutters.
England had a dismal performance in the 2015 World Cup as they sent packing home by Tigers. But this summer they have a rejuvenated look and turned into a different an ODI unit. The absence of Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales will be hard to be filled up but the likes of James Vince and Ben Duckett give hope that the back-up will come good.
English selectors can now have faith placed on Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler who now have senior roles in the side for at least these three matches. Moeen Ali can provide in-depth knowledge on Bangladeshi cricketers and conditions having played here in two domestic tournaments.
Bangladesh and England have only played two ODIs, in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, after their last ODI series in 2010, but this is the meeting of two teams on the rise over the last 18 months. Cricket hasn’t seen many new rivalries but this ODI series has all the makings of sparking one.
England’s pacers will have to vary their pace and bounce in the subcontinent to test the likes of Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Musfiqur Rahman. Overall, by no means is this England side weak even without the services of Morgan, Root and Hales.
