It was exactly a month ago that these two teams faced off against each other for the two Tests where England managed to wrap it up 2-0 in a convincing fashion. Both teams have had a few notable changes over the past month. England have shown the world that they are a far more rejuvenated bunch of young men after their recent series win against the Aussies. They haven't looked back ever since they won the T20 World Cup at the Caribbean. The Bangladeshis on the other hand have had a few selection problems of late. Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh's spearhead in the bowling department, has replaced the enthusiastic all-rounder Shakib as the captain of their ODI side.
The first of the three ODIs begin at Trent Bridge in Nottingham and with Pietersen out with an injury, the team management will get a few opportunities to test their bench strength. Dashing top order batsman, Jonathon Trott has earned himself a recall and he will have a thing or two to prove to the selectors. With the likes of Yardy and Bresnan doing well in the limited opportunities that they have got so far, the English are better prepared for the 2011 World Cup than their counterparts as they even bat pretty deep.
The wicket at Trent Bridge is believed to be a batting paradise with the highest ODI score here being 391. Interestingly, this game which was played in 2005 featured the same two teams, England and Bangladesh, and the hosts won the game by a massive 168 runs. It is however expected to be overcast and the faster bowlers will have some assistance from the wicket.
The worrying factor for the Bangladesh selectors was the poor form of one of their key players, Mohammad Ashraful and they have taken a tough call on him by excluding the ace middle order batsman from the squad. This will add more responsibilities on the middle order which has been unreliable over the recent past. Spin, as always, will be their strength and the Bangladeshis will be hoping for some change of fortunes under their new captain.
Eoin Morgan has been the spice in the English batting order with some consistent match winning knocks and with the kind of batting line up they possess, England will definitely be a far more fancied side to win the series.
Numbers game:
100: The number of wickets Shakib has taken in ODIs.
159: The number of runs Collingwood needs to score to reach 5000 ODI runs.
Quotes:
"We will try to play good cricket starting from the first match, and that is our first ambition" : Mashrafe Mortaza
"They're a dangerous side, they all play shots, and Tamim Iqbal in particular is very dangerous." : Andrew Strauss
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