World Cup 2019: England looks forward to comeback against spirited Bangladesh

 

LONDON: The host team England is ready to face Bangladesh today at Cardiff Wales Stadium. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm (PST) and 10:30 am (local time).

After facing a defeat against Pakistan on Monday, England is ready to make a comeback against mettlesome Bangladesh today.

England is the most favorite team of the tournament, having the honors to host the mega event. England whitewashed Pakistan with a 4-0 win in a five-match ODI series with one match abandoned due to weather fluctuations before the start of ICC World Cup 2019.

 

England began their competition in a preeminent way as they crushed South Africa. They batted first and posted a very impressive target of 311 on board. Ben Stokes was the top performer for England as he scored 89 off just 79 balls.

Skipper Morgan and Jason Roy were also additionally in great form as the two players scored decent half-centuries.

Jofra Archer was the highlight for English bowling by picking up 3 wickets for just 27 runs. Questions were raised over Archer's inclusion in the squad before the beginning of this competition however the England paceman proved his brilliance against South Africa.

Joe Root and Jos Buttler scored amazing centuries to fight back against Pakistan in their second match. Buttler scored 103 off 76 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes but England were crushed by the Pakistani team as they made an impressive comeback after facing a shambolic defeat by West Indies in the opener match.

Moeen and Woakes aided England by taking three wickets each but still, it appeared as if it was their bowling which took England down in the last match.

England hopes to have every one of their line-up in flow and will be extremely hard to beat in this competition

Bangladesh has shown a very decent form in this event. They won their opener match against South Africa but couldn't stand against New Zealand in their second match.

Shakib-al-Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim displayed spectacular match-winning performances against South Africa by scoring 75 (84) and 78 (80) respectively, with Shakib dismissing a South African opener as well.

However, in the second match against New Zealand, Shakib (64) showed effective all-round performance for his side by picking up two wickets as well.

England will require to ensure not to get surprised by the under-rated team Bangladesh once again as they were in 2015, which led England in being sent packed from the tournament.

Still, England is in a commanding position, but stranger things do happen in cricket. Both teams should come out blazing with runs on the board and blowing away wickets to win the match.

Weather Conditions at Cardiff

Cardiff will have moderate weather today. Rain in the morning with a patchy light drizzle. The afternoon will be partly cloudy but sunny spells are expected. 

ENG-BAN ODI stats

Head to head ODI matches: 20

ENG won: 16

BAN won: 4

Tied: 0

No result: 0

Highest total: 391/4 by England in 2005

Lowest total: 134/9 by Bangladesh in 2003

Most runs: 610 runs in 8 matches by AJ Strauss (ENG) including 3 fifties and 2 centuries

Most wickets: 16 wickets in 13 matches Mashrafe Mortaza (BAN)

England's squad for ICC World Cup 2019: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood.

Bangladesh's squad for ICC World Cup 2019: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed.