Bangladesh, Australia face off in must-win affair
The events on and around London Bridge on Saturday night have not affected the Champions Trophy, despite the fact that The Oval is less than 4km away. Australia and Bangladesh both trained at the ground on Sunday ahead of their Group ‘A’ encounter on Monday (June 5), with both teams declaring that they are comfortable with the security arrangements in place. Nevertheless the incident is bound to hang over the game, reports Cricbuzz.
In effect, this is a must-win affair for both teams. While Australia escaped from their meeting with New Zealand with a point after rain bailed them out, defeat against Bangladesh would leave their campaign in a precarious position. And having lost their opening match to England, Bangladesh need four points from their remaining two games. It may only be the fifth day of the tournament, but already there is no room for error.
For all of Bangladesh`s improvement over the past three years, Australia are the natural favourites for this game. And yet there could be two leveling factors.
Firstly, the match will played on the same pitch that was used in South Africa`s win over Sri Lanka on Saturday. It was not the sort of batting paradise on which Bangladesh`s bowlers struggled against England, and after drying out further it should provide some assistance to the slower bowlers and the spinners. Australia are not known for their ability to temper their attacking instincts in such situations, and have been found out on more than one occasion.
Secondly, rain is expected to intervene in the evening, which could make the toss a key factor. If Bangladesh can take advantage of this as well as the preferable conditions, they could close the gap between the two teams and create the sort of memorable win that Captain Mashrafe Mortaza was part of in Cardiff in 2005.
Before they can do so, they will need to find a better balance to their side - in the tournament opener on Thursday, their lack of a fifth bowler hurt them as England ran away with the game.
When: June 5, 2017 at 6:30 PM (Bangladesh local time)
Where: The Oval, London
What to expect: In South Africa`s win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, footmark scuffs became apparent inside the opening 10 overs of the game and the general consensus was that 280 was probably a par score. The same pitch will be used for this game, when it should be even drier and slower. Both teams would do well to learn from the way that South Africa evaluated conditions and adapted. Meanwhile weather is a big concern - showers are expected in the evening, and look likely to affect the second half of the game.
Team News:
Australia: Steven Smith`s side probably need to find a way to get spinner Adam Zampa into the side, putting John Hastings and Pat Cummins` places in the side under pressure. Otherwise there are unlikely to be changes, with Smith hoping for an improved performance from an opening game where he admitted they were "rusty".
Probable XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith (c), Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza has been thinking long and hard about the composition of his side after the decision to leave out a specialist bowler in favour of a batsman against England backfired. Mehedi Hasan seems likely to come in and provide an extra spinning option, at the expense of either Imrul Kayes or Sabbir Rahman.
Probable XI: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes/Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Stats and Trivia:
- Australia and Bangladesh have not faced each other in an ODI since April 2011. Their World Cup encounter in 2015 was washed out without a ball being bowled.
- Australia lost their last fixture against subcontinental opposition at The Oval - in the 2013 Champions Trophy they were bowled out for 233 by Sri Lanka to lose by 20 runs.
- Of the players who have taken part in more than five ODIs this year, Mahmudullah has the highest average - 83. Yet Tamim Iqbal`s record in 2017 is the more impressive one - he is third on that list, having scored 458 runs (to Mahmudullah`s 166) at an average of 76.33
What they said:
"I know they were pretty fiery in the nets today. I copped quite a few short ones. Maybe they are listening, which is good." - Steve Smith confirms that Australia`s bowlers have responded to his poor assessment of them after the New Zealand game.
"In the last game, we weren`t able to take wickets in the middle overs. There a fifth bowler could have helped. Wickets matter. We have to look at the combination. We will have to think that if we were able to score 305 with eight batsmen, we can do it with seven batsmen as well. We are thinking about it. We are looking for the right balance." Mashrafe Mortaza considers the make-up of Bangladesh`s team.
