CRICKET WORLD CUP: Saturday sees England returning to action against Bangladesh, hoping to get back on track after losing out to Pakistan. Gerard Browne previews the game and makes his pick to win.
Both teams will be looking to get back to winning ways after defeats earlier this week when they go head-head at Sophia Gardens on Saturday. England suffered a surprise 14 runs loss at the hands of Pakistan on Monday, whilst Bangladesh came up just short vs New Zealand on Wednesday, losing by just 2 wickets. At time of writing, England are strong favourites on the exchange, priced at 1.14 compared to Bangladesh at 5.5.
England will feel they left the game vs Pakistan behind them. Dropped catches and poor fielding were a major factor in Pakistan posting 348-8 from their 50 overs. Chris Woakes did his best taking three wickets but it wasn’t enough. There were plenty of positives to be taken from England’s batting performance however. A tally of 334 runs is the second highest score in the World Cup to date. Joe Root and Jos Buttler both found form hitting centuries. With that in mind, there’s certainly no need for England to press the panic button just yet.
Like England, Bangladesh should not be too disheartened by their display vs New Zealand. They batted first and posted 244 before being bowled out with four balls remaining. Just like when he faced South Africa, Shakib Al Hasan was the main man, scoring 64 runs from 68 balls. Al Hasan also claimed two wickets with ball in hand. A score below 250 was never going to put New Zealand under major pressure, especially with Ross Taylor in hot form and despite the best efforts of Bangladesh’s bowlers. Along with Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mossaddek Hossain all claimed two wickets a piece.
Take out Shakib Al Hasn from the team and Bangladesh struggle for runs. Openers Tamim Iqdal and Soumya Sarkar are yet to pass 50. Comparatively, England have posted over 300 in both games so far and Bangladesh’s bowlers don’t look like they can take that score despite all chipping in with wickets. This won’t be a walk in the park for England but they will get back to winning ways.
Verdict: England
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