England confronting preference nonplus for initial Bangladesh Test

Mike Atherton, Chief Cricket Correspondent, Chittagong & , : {}

In a small buliding this has been discharged as a mismatch: Gulliver in the land of Lilliput. One bard even went as far as to contend that Bangladesh were a risk to Englands destiny formulation precisely given of how bad the home group are.

But Gulliver awoke in Lilliput to find himself enchained, as England competence do here if they are significantly next their best.

Statistically, it should be a walkover: the Ashes holders opposite a group who have won customarily 3 Tests and those opposite Zimbabwe and a enervated West Indies given their betterment to full-member standing roughly a decade ago. Yet the stream is indeterminate sufficient for red flags to be planted.

England have a new captain, they have injuries, they are unbalanced, their most appropriate batsmen is short of runs and conditions foster the home team. Alastair Cook will lead out England for the initial time in Tests tomorrow and, in the approach of fresh, immature captains, there were no risk signs flashing from him yesterday.

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He emphasised, as he must, that it would be a collateral corruption to blink Bangladesh, but was assured that the ethos inside of the group would assistance England to prevail.

Cook suggested that Graham Onions had not recovered amply from at the back of difficulty to be considered, but then, carrying learnt from the master, Andrew Strauss, gave afar small more. Stuart Broad bowled at probably full gait in the nets and, supposing that there is no reaction, he looks expected to fool around to one side dual spinners.

But that, for England, is where the preference certainties end. These are the sort of decisions that have the pursuit interesting, Andy Flower pronounced after the three-day use compare opposite Bangladesh A. Interesting, yes, but Englands nonplus is short of a square and, however prolonged the group executive pores over the nonplus in in between right away and the begin of play, he is not going to be means to finish it.

If they fool around 6 batsmen, and Matt Prior at No 7, then, with dual spinners a certainty, customarily dual join bowlers can play, one of whom will be Broad. This is unsure and, in any case, the representation in the three-day diversion that accomplished on Tuesday did sufficient to indicate that dual join bowlers competence not be enough.

If they fool around five batsmen, with the wicketkeeper at No 6, they will have a temporary opener to one side Cook and a tail longer than a ships rat. Nothing utterly fits.

The complaint is the miss of a genuine all-rounder, someone who can bat at Nos 6 or 7 and be a great sufficient third join bowler. The man earmarked for this purpose is Luke Wright, but he did not fool around in this winters Test array in South Africa, nor did he in the three-day diversion here. His one after an additional participation is a nonplus in itself because collect him if they are not going to fool around him?

What will England do? The likeliest choice is that they will fool around 6 batsmen, and Prior, dual join bowlers and dual spinners, anticipating that Paul Collingwoods seamers and cutters will be sufficient to at the back of up the new-ball bowlers. This would meant a initial top for Michael Carberry, opening to one side Cook, an additional for Tim Bresnan, but no entrance for Steven Finn.

Playing dual join bowlers is a high-risk strategy, generally with one of them recuperating from at the back of problems, but the proof at the back of the preference is receptive to advice enough. Bangladesh will go in with customarily dual join bowlers, along with 3 spinners, and, as we saw in the three-day compare here, turn will dominate.

Two of Bangladeshs delayed bowlers, Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzaq, will be left-armers and all eyes will be on them and Kevin Pietersen for the conflict that will ensue. If there is a association in in between talent, determination, enterprise and tough work and opening there customarily is Pietersen will measure a towering of runs in this series. He was listened to contend after concealment ferociously on Tuesday that somethings clicked.

This competence be kidology or it competence be that the small changes he has been operative on unexpected feel natural. For the initial time in a prolonged time Pietersen has something to infer and that competence be the creation of him again in the approach it was when he appeared on the stage 6 years ago.

The home group suffered a poignant reversal yesterday when Raqibul Hasan, who scored an dominant hundred and a fifty in the use compare only completed, voiced his early retirement from all forms of general cricket. The 22-year-old is pronounced to be dissapoint at being left out of Bangladeshs rough 30-man patrol for the World Twenty20 and their one-day array opposite England.

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