Published: Oct 04, 2016, 09:36 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 04, 2016, 06:23 PM (IST)
Hello and Welcome to the Cricket Country’s live match coverage of the two-day practice match between BCB Select XI and England XI. Bangladesh are coming with fresh approach in this series after their victory against Afghanistan recently while England had an equally good run winning against Sri Lanka and England. Visitors are slightly at an advantage as they have been at the top be it Tests or One-Day International (ODIs). Meanwhile, Bangladesh have been excellent in Twenty20 International (T20I) and ODI cricket as per the recently concluded series and Asia Cup T20 2016.
The full-fledged tour will see these two sides meet in 3 ODIs and 2 Tests played across Mirpur and Chittagong. The series has been in the news for all the wrong reasons thus far, and with the focus finally shifting on cricket, the fans will get to see an exciting series, as their home team has been unbeaten in the ODI format at home in past one year.
The tour, which is finally happening, was once under the cloud of uncertainty. In July this year, a terrorist attack in Dhaka led to 20 people being killed by Islamist militants. Immediately after the attack, England’s proposed winter tour to the country was put on hold. It is notable here that last year, Australia had cancelled their tour to Bangladesh. They were scheduled to play a tour match in Fatullah followed by two Tests in Chittagong and Dhaka. ALSO READ: BAN vs ENG: Jos Buttler calls for focus on cricket
England, however, decided to tour Bangladesh after the board and government and officials reportedly gave repeated assurances of tight security arrangements. But this was not over here, as the real drama unfolded after the decision to go ahead with the tour. England’s limited-over skipper Eoin Morgan along with their opening batsmen Alex Hales decided to step out of the tour and Jos Buttler was named the stand-in captain for ODI series. Recently, pacer James Anderson was ruled out of the series due to persistent shoulder injury.
Both have had a terrific last season and it was only apt they got this chance in the Test side. Pacer Jake Ball has been picked while veteran spinner Gareth Batty, 38, will be making a shocking comeback. Bangladesh also have good and budding side but the cloud on Mashrafe Mortaza’s inclusion in the side remains a question mark as he might miss out on this match due to injury. ALSO READ: BAN vs ENG: Pacer Al-Amin Hossain called back for 2 ODI
All the games will be day-night fixtures. The ODI series will be followed by 2 two-day tour games in Chittagong and then the first Test in the same city from October 20-24. The second and final Test will be played in Mirpur from October 28 to November 1. Though Bangladesh have been a force to reckon with at home in ODIs, facing England in Tests is going to be a tough challenge for them.
Squads:
BCB Select XI: Alauddin Babu, Al-Amin Hossain, Ebadat Hossain, Imrul Kayes (wk), Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mohammad Manik, Nasir Hossain, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan (c), Shuvagata Hom, Soumya Sarkar, Sunzamul Islam
England XI: Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
