England move to Dharamsala after loss to New Zealand in Ahmedabad, and the focus will be on improvements. Facing them are Bangladesh, who have kicked off their World Cup campaign on a good note.
There are clearly some potential distractions moving into this game with reports of how the outfield might play because of its sandy nature. Diving in the outfield could be hazardous and this will be a huge concern for both the teams. Here, both teams will need their management to talk to the players on not getting distracted by the talks around the outfield. The factors which are outside one’s control might affect the overall performance of the team. This is the job of the management and the senior players to make sure their heads are in the right space going into a match. The outfield and conditions are not ideal but the sides who deal with this sort of a situation well will come out on the top in the end.
England displayed very poor performance by their standards in the opening game vs New Zealand. The big defeat also has a negative effect on their Net Run Rate (NRR), which is something that they will have to manage throughout the tournament.
My gut feel is that despite the loss to NZ, England are not going to make many changes to the XI vs Bangladesh. Regarding batting, the Dawid Malan-Jonny Bairstow opening partnership is going to be very crucial for England throughout the tournament. Jason Roy, in my view used to play a very important role while batting with Bairstow. Roy is a fearless player, who got into hisgroove very quickly. The dynamic of the opening partnership is slightly different now with Dawid Malan not always going out of the box quickly. England will hope the Malan-Bairstow partnership will flourish and they feel comfortable in their roles particularly with the tempo they both operate at.
Bairstow will be completing his 100th ODI. For me, he is the best ODI opener England have ever had. He will play a crucial role in the remainder of the tournament.
Joe Root is the key player for England in all games across conditions. He got 77 in the last game and looked in good touch. Apart from a run-scorer, he plays the role of a guide or mentor to the rest of the team in adapting to the different playing conditions across India. Dharamsala is going to be very different that Ahmedabad. This venue is a lot cooler. The pitch and conditions are likely to be different. Players like Root and Ben Stokes will need to see the cond itions and guide the team on what is a realistic score on each of the venues they play at.
In bowling, I would like to see Reece Topley play the Bangladesh match. I think he is a terrific One-Day bowler, a wicket-taker with the new ball. Topley creates different angles being a leftarm pacer and extracts bounce off the track because of his height. If Topley finds form at the early stage of the tournament, he is going to give England a lot of options down the line.
I will continue to play Mark Wood. But England know that playing Wood also depends on the conditions a lot. That’s a conundrum for them because you are risking someone like Wood playing on that kind of outfield. This is still the early part of the tournament and England would not want one of their match-winning pacers to get injured while fielding. England can bring in Gus Atkinson in place of Wood. But at the same time, I also understand that England would want to keep playing Wood because he is such a valuable addition to the XI. Adil Rashid had a difficult comeback game v New Zealand and will hope to find better rhythm as he is so crucial to England’s success.
Wood and Rashid, the two key wicket takers for England in the middle overs, were not at their best vs New Zealand and it affected them. They will need these two to come back to their best. England displayed a very conservative performance, certainly with the bat. I expect a reaction from them. I expect a more dynamic performance from them with the bat in the upcoming match.
Coming to Bangladesh, they are a tough side when playing in home-like conditions. They performed well against the England side, six months ago. They have some outstanding cricketers. I like the fact that Mahmudullah has come back into the squad, bringing a great amount of experience with him. He is a brilliant batter and can provide some overs of off-spin bowling as well.
Bangladesh got off to a winning start in the World Cup in the same conditions they play England next. Shakib Al Hasan’s side looks high on confidence going into this contest. Their spinners were excellent against Afghanistan. In fact, all their bowlers made contributions. I really like Mustafizur Rahman, who bowls well with both new ball as well as old one at the death.
Bangladesh also have a good top order with Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto. They have got batters who can cause England some problems, to be honest. England will need to be at their best to ensure they beat Bangladesh. This is also a crucial game for them after having lost the opener.
All eyes will be on the conditions and the outfield, particularly. As I said in previous World Cup articles, you need your 15 players to adapt to the different conditions in this World Cup. Adapting will be the key. Now, in Dharamsala, you are not just adapting to the pitch and weather but also the outfield. The side that adapts to these conditions as soon as possible will be the winner. England still favourites to me as they will be looking to make a massive improvement after the poor show vs New Zealand.
