RESULT
2nd ODI, Bristol, July 10, 2010, Bangladesh tour of England, Ireland and Scotland
(49.3/50 ov, T:237) 231

Bangladesh won by 5 runs

Player Of The Match
22 (25) & 2/42
mashrafe-mortaza
Preview

England search for bowling improvement

A preview of the second one-day international between England and Bangladesh at Bristol

Match facts

July 10, 2010, Bristol
Start time 10.30am (9.30GMT)

Big picture

It was messy at times from England at Trent Bridge, but they duly secured a comfortable six-wicket victory as Ian Bell enjoyed his return to the one-day ranks with a steady 84. Moving on to Bristol the home side will want a more convincing performance against opposition now beset by injuries and having to hastily summon replacements from Bangladesh.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan are out of the series and the replacements will need to be ready to play with some hefty jetlag if they make it to the country on time for Saturday's game. What was most disappointing about Bangladesh's effort in the opening match was the way the batting faded with the team seemingly happy to settle for 250 when they should have pushed for 280.
Not that England can sit back and relax. Their bowling, especially with the new ball, is starting to cause some serious concerns with James Anderson proving continually expensive and Tim Bresnan struggling to make breakthroughs. Against Bangladesh it is unlikely to prove costly - although Tamim Iqbal could yet change that scenario - but for Andrew Strauss it should be about how his team wins these matches.
Strauss, who was run out for a sublime 50 at Trent Bridge, will also be keen for the batsmen to build on their platforms because England still need to score more hundreds in one-day cricket. But it's almost impossible to see how Bangladesh will prevent another whitewash because even if Tamim cuts loose for more than a few overs the bowling is so unthreatening that Mashrafe Mortaza has few options to turn to.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England WLLWW
Bangladesh LLLLL

Watch out for...

Craig Kieswetter was quite frenetic during his 32 in the opening ODI and is still struggling for form this season since his performances at the World Twenty20. After backing him over the last six months the selectors will be loathe to make another change to the position, but Matt Prior's county form has been impressive. Kieswetter is likely to have the remainder of England's one-day cricket this summer to make a mark - and he has been earmarked for the World Cup - but needs a strong finish to this series.
Shakib Al Hasan has shed the captaincy to try and recapture his form, particularly with the bat, and Bangladesh need big performances from him. He showed glimpses in the first match before driving to cover and was also involved in the mix-up that ended Raqibul's innings when he was acting as a runner. However, the bowling looked in good order and he troubled Ian Bell during a testing spell. He is a class above the other members of the attack.

Team news

There must be a temptation from Strauss and Andy Flower to make a change in the bowling department with Ajmal Shahzad having carried the drinks in recent weeks. They like the balance of the current team, but James Tredwell only bowled three overs at Trent Bridge so Shahzad could slot in for the offspinner and increase the pace options.
England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Ian Bell, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Michael Yardy, 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson
Bangladesh will have to wait and see how many of the reserves arrive in Bristol in time for the game. Mohammad Ashraful, Naeem Islam and wicketkeeper Saghir Hossain are jetting over and without them the squad is down to the bare bones. If Saghir doesn't reach in time for the match, Jahurul Islam will keep wicket.
Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Jahurul Islam (wk), 5 Mohammad Ashraful, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Faisal Hossain, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shafiul Islam

Pitch and conditions

This is the ground where 23 wickets fell on the first day of Gloucestershire's County Championship match against Northamptonshire at the beginning of the season. Although conditions have certainly eased considerably since then, and Gloucestershire eased to 154 for 2 in slightly more than 15 overs in the last Twenty20 match played here, the pitch should provide a decent battle between bat and ball. The weather is set fair for Saturday's game.

Stats and Trivia

  • After his unbeaten 84 in the first game, Ian Bell now averages 143.40 in all international matches against Bangladesh, having scored 717 runs - including three Test centuries - against them.
  • Despite Tamim Iqbal's consistent form, Bangladesh's leading runscorer in ODIs in 2010 is his opening partner, Imrul Kayes, who has 502 runs at 35.85 this year. Tamim is just behind him, with 499 runs at 35.64, but has a far superior strike-rate of 103.09 as compared to Kayes' 68.11 in 2010.

Quotes

"Andy Flower spoke to me about a few things when he left me out of the side last year, mainly about playing spinners in the middle overs, and it's started to pay off."
Ian Bell hints at the hard work that has gone into his transformation as a limited-overs batsman
"We have lost 20 games in a row, and as a captain I have to lift the other 14 guys."
Bangladesh's captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, is taking the responsibility of lifting his team on his own shoulders

Andrew McGlashan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

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