England vs Bangladesh 3rd ODI

Watch the Live Streaming of England vs Bangladesh 3rd Natwest ODI now.

 

Teams: (click on the players to see their profile)
Bangladesh Squad:  Mashrafe Mortaza*, Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Faisal Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim†, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Saghir Hossain†, Shafiul Islam, Syed Rasel, Tamim Iqbal

England Squad:  AJ Strauss*, JM Anderson, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, PD Collingwood, C Kieswetter†, EJG Morgan, A Shahzad, JC Tredwell, IJL Trott, LJ Wright, MH Yardy

 

Bangladesh perhaps exceeded their own expectations by pulling off an upset win against a resurgent England team in the 2nd ODI at Bristol. The win would definitely act as a catalyst to give them more confidence and self belief to perform consistently at this level. A 24 match losing streak this year was broken, and more importantly they broke the jinx of not having beaten England in any form of cricket before. For a long time now, Bangladesh have relied heavily on their batsmen to win it for them. That's precisely why the bowlers stepping up under pressure to defend a moderate total was very heartening to see. Bangladesh have had this tag of always flattering to deceive and have very rarely managed to mantain the level of consistency that has been expected off them ever since gaining Test status in 2000.

In recent times, their dependency on Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order has grown many folds, and it's almost as if everyone in Bangladesh believes the game is over if he is out. None of the other batsmen so far have gone on to prove that theory wrong. Ashraful who was believed to be their best batsmen for a long time seems a mere shadow of himself, and would be expected to shoulder the responsibility in the middle order. With Tamim, Kayes and Siddique all finding form at the right time, Eng would certainly not have it easy in the field. Their bowling which has always come under a lot of flak in recent times surprisingly looked settled, with Shafiul and Rubel Hossain surprising the batsmen with their pace and bounce. Mortaza, who has been an experienced campaigner for many seasons would definitely boost their attack. Add to this the spin of Shakib and Razzak, and you have a bowling attack which can be potent in ideal bowling conditions or if they are defending a good total. They seem to have been least affected by the absence of Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan which is also a good sign.

England who have received a lot of criticism from the media for the poor showing in the 2nd game would be looking to go out and prove to their detractors that their loss was just a one off. Injury to Bell would mean Trott is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven, a matter which would have given the side a lot of headaches had Bell been fit.Ravi Bopara who has been in good nick with both bat and ball for the England Lions has also been drafted into the squad as cover for Bell. He is however unlikely to play. England are likely to retain their 6 batsmen 4 bowlers combination in a bid to restore their dented pride, if they are to win the series.

Quotes:

"They thoroughly deserved their victory but for us it's about licking our wounds and making sure we don't repeat the same mistakes again on Monday. I'm still very buoyant but you need to learn from your mistakes. There are a few to learn from today."- Strauss.

"It's hard to keep getting beaten, now I think they realise they can beat anyone. It's unbelievable. I would have thought England were on top of the world and capable of beating everyone." -Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh coach obviously in a jubilant mood after the series levelling win.

This match is webcasted live for free at iSports.