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Preview: Bangladesh-England

Thursday, October 16 2003

BANGLADESH vs ENGLAND - PREVIEW

Fresh off the back of a pulsating summer of Test and ODI cricket against Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe, England's cricketers took their first steps on Bangladeshi soil last week ahead of an intensive ten-week tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka involving five Tests and six ODI matches.

It's something of a journey into the unknown for most of England's inexperienced squad, with the last trip to the sub-continent two years ago, and only one previous meeting with Bangladesh (ICC Champions Trophy 2001 in Nairobi - where 95 from Nasser Hussain led the side to an eight-wicket win). Matthew Hoggard, Richard Johnson and Ashley Giles are the only bowling survivors from the Tour of India two years ago, but the batting line up has more experience, with Vaughan, Trescothick, Butcher, Hussain and Thorpe all having made half centuries in that series.

Skipper MICHAEL VAUGHAN himself will look to shake off the disappointing form of the latter part of 2003 and return to the astronomic highs he struck in Australia, while MARCUS TRESCOTHICK is coming off the back of that incredible 219, and with a strong previous record against spin, he will look to lead with style from the top of the order. The rest of the batting line-up of MARK BUTCHER, NASSER HUSSAIN and GRAHAM THORPE is as strong as England have seen in recent years and will be looking to score heavily against the inexperienced Bangladeshi bowling attack.

The number six slot will be England's biggest worry following the loss of Andrew Flintoff, with PAUL COLLINGWOOD the favourite to take the position following RIKKI CLARKE's disappointing showing in the first warm-up match. Neither will be able to fill Flintoff's bowling shoes, however. The wicketkeeping gloves are likely to fall to CHRIS READ following his excellent NatWest Series, but Kent's GERAINT JONES will hope to recapture his batting form of the early part of 2003 to challenge as Read is the superior of the two behind the stumps.

Experienced left-arm spinner ASHLEY GILES and uncapped GARETH BATTY will carry England's spin hopes, and with Giles' strong record in the sub-continent and Batty's impressive summer form, allied to both players' competence with the bat, the two slow bowlers provide useful depth and balance. This leaves four fast bowlers fighting over the two remaining slots - and MATTHEW HOGGARD and STEVE HARMISON are likely to get the nod for the First Test. Hoggard performed superbly in India last time around whilst Harmison is finally starting to prove as incisive as his potential suggests he should be. RICHARD JOHNSON and MARTIN SAGGERS are unlikely to play at this stage, but should either first choice lose fitness, then both have a strong shout for inclusion off the back of consistently excellent domestic performances.

The One-Day squad is bolstered by the returns of pacemen JIMMY ANDERSON and JAMES KIRTLEY alongside all-round star ANDREW FLINTOFF, both missing the Tests through injury, while IAN BLACKWELL, VIKRAM SOLANKI and ANDREW STRAUSS add depth to the batting line-up as well as the back-up spin department in the case of Blackwell.

Bangladesh are unlikely to be any pushovers - as seen by their excellent fighting spirit shown in Pakistan last month - but should England perform to their potential, their batting lineup is likely to have too much class for the young Bangladeshis. For the hosts, HANNAN SARKAR and JAVED OMAR are an infuriatigly inconsistent opening pair leading ALOK KAPALI, RAJIN SALEH and MOHAMMAD ASHRAFUL as one of the youngest middle orders in Test Cricket (combined age: 57) but are all highly talented players.

Number three HABIBUL BASHAR has passed fifty 17 times in Tests, averaging 37.04 and is the one piece of true proven class in the side. Skipper KHALED MAHMUD and MUSHFIQUR RAHMAN are the side's - limited, if truth be told - all-rounders, with the gritty former captain KHALED MASHUD taking the gloves. MOHAMMAD RAFIQUE can bowl useful left-arm spin, while fellow left-armer ENAMUL HAQUE JUNIOR has a lot of potential and MASHRAFE MORTAZA, TAPASH BAISYA and MANJURAL ISLAM provide a solid if unspectacular new-ball attack.

Posted by Neil