The Eoin Morgan-led England are termed as red-hot favourites for the forthcoming 2017 ICC Champions Trophy as they were runners-up in 2013, which was also the seventh edition when they played under the tutelage of Alastair Cook, in the rain-affected final in Birmingham against formidable India, that was eventually won by visitors by five runs, on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis Method.
However, the multilateral event is seen as the enriching experience for all eight teams which are keen to perform on the big stage as hosts England are vying to make a strong comeback after falling like pack of cards, in their final One-day International of three-match Royal London Series which they eventually claimed by 2-1 against South Africa.
Solid in defence, Jonny Bairstow, who has been proving his credentials, has only found his name in the 15-men squad as England is highly likely going with settled openers Alex Hales and Jason Roy, who of late has been struggling with the bat.
In 2000 at Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi, England under the captaincy of Nasser Hussain (95 off 122 balls) thrashed Bangladesh by eight wickets after chasing down the target of 233 in 43.5 overs which was their only head-to-head contest in the Champions Trophy history in past seven editions.
As the practice matches are over, we could further expect grey skies featuring on television screens in coming days. This is how the weather is playing in the United Kingdom these days as Duckworth-Lewis will surely come into the play.
There would be definitely an added pressure for the skippers to pick their Playing XI as they cannot afford a loss or so, straightaway before crowd goes mad while rooting for their teams in general.
Overview:
Barring an injury scare to Ben Stokes, whose injury does not seem serious to the England management anymore, the Lions are concentrating on their opener of ICC’s global event which is scheduled against Bangladesh, led by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who has vast amount of experience on his back – to shoulder the responsibility, in most probably his last ICC Champions Trophy to say the least.
In their second warm-up match, the Tigers stand-in skipper Shakib Al Hasan skipper received the battering from Men in Blue, before they were bundled out for 84 which further found them wanted against a decent bowling attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami and England bowlers are aware of the fact.
Moreover, England would be delighted after the series win over Proteas despite Lord’s demolition led by South African pace sensation Kagiso Rabada, who picked four early wickets.
England played three-match series against the quality unit and World No.1 ODI ranked team before starting off their ICC Champions Trophy campaign at The Oval on June 1.
The die-hard fans of England would be hoping to see their star all-rounder Ben Stokes making into the Playing XI after he suffered from a knee injury during the recently concluded series against South Africa, who has been further cleared by team management.
Tracking The Strength:
England could boast about its quality line-up at the helm; be it in batting or bowling – to give their best on the field against Bangladesh, a side which is further capable of springing a surprise, if they happen to play with pure aggression while giving an all-round performance on the field.
After losing six wickets in first five overs against South Africa, England would be heavily relying on their batting department which has done well in the past two years as Trevor Bayliss has had dictated the terms to his wards, before opining England are capable enough to win the tournament which is short and spectacular.
Having power-hitters to deal with Bangladesh bowlers, Morgan would be itching to see Jason Roy and Alex Hales going hammer and tongs against the Tigers on a placid surface like The Oval which has already witnessed 300-plus scores in the warm-up games.
The pioneers of the gentleman’s game have further developed the most fearsome batting order at the top which could rattle the opposition bowlers at will as Joe Root sits well to march into the numbers.
In the past two years, English batsmen have scored heavily on the basis of their average which sees ever-reliable Joe Root averaging 58 followed by skipper Eoin Morgan 50.4 and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Butler 47.2.
Moreover, the hard-hitting pair with the likes of Alex Hales and Jason Roy are averaging 42 and 40.30 respectively since 2016. Both the openers in the recent past had battered the decent bowling line-up of the opposition with their sheer and aggressive brand of cricket while facing the new ball.
It would be crucial for England how their openers would go into the 18-day tournament which has plenty on an offer for the cricket fraternity in nutshell.
Two Key Players For England:
As England are ready to trap the Tigers, Ben Stokes would be an interesting man to rely on for a skipper like Morgan as the latter has been a quality performer with the bat and a ball before impressing the spectators with his fielding skills.
The ultimate modern-day entertainer Stokes, who has strokes in his book, would play a crucial role for England against Bangladesh after struggling with his knee.
Having the recent IPL success, Stokes would be optimistic to go into the tournament opener as he has an exciting and match-winning century to his name against Gujarat Lions before returning home for international commitments to notch a triple figure mark against mighty South Africans.
In his IPL debut, Stokes has the tally of 12 wickets and 316 runs registered to his name from 12 IPL games.
Secondly, England leg-spinner Adil Rashid would be a man to watch out for in the inaugural match of the Champions Trophy as he has been delivering right away for the team with a bagful of the tricks.
With his neat and clean action and gentle in his follow-through, the 29-year-old Bradford-born Rashid has claimed 41 wickets, in the past two years, which further shows how well he had bowled in a home condition where pitches traditionally supported seamers owing to the overcast conditions as well.
Rashid, the go-to bowler for England has featured in 46 ODIs as he claimed 63 wickets with the best figures of 5 for 27.
For England to win a match against Mortaza’s blend of experience and youth backed side, they need to do their basics right as the side is pretty complacent on the paper.
Match Prediction:
While knowing their home conditions well and having the knack of crossing past 300-run mark, England is likely going to win the first encounter of the ICC’s 50-over competition as the team gets boost by Jos Butler, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes down the order which is further revolving around the batting mainstay Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, who are the high-quality players and has the habit of winning games for their team.
Headlined by the fast bowling attack which is comprised of David Willey, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood, the man who pulled a last-over sensational over South Africa in the second ODI recently.
Having the remarkable skills on an offer, England bowlers would turn out to be an open threat as they are blessed with sheer pace and the swing which could further demolish the batting attack on any seaming friendly conditions.
English bowlers would be aiming to go full throttle against Bangladesh while peppering them with short balls.
As the players have established themselves for playing the top notch cricket England is expected to bat first at home. We could expect 325-plus on board for the first innings considering the fact if hosts went to bat first.
Moreover, Bangladesh has been somehow consistent in the ODI format in the recent past as they dramatically reached to their sixth spot and they would bat first the expected score would be 270-plus.
However, Bangladesh would heavily rely on their experienced campaigners, in a hard-fought battle against three Lions.
Here’s the Predicted XI of England:
Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (skipper), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.