Shelter from the storm

Michael Vaughan sets out in search of dry land © Getty Images

The England squad is now at full strength after the two members who missed Wednesday's flight - Richard Johnson and late call-up Martin Saggers - arrived. In all probability they needn't have rushed. The rain, which has been well reported, continued to fall throughout the day and Dhaka's Bangabandhu Stadium, the venue for England's tour opener on Sunday - remained under flooded tarpaulins.

The chances of any play at the weekend are remote, and England again went through their training sessions indoors. They have had to do this for two days. The closest Bangladesh, who assembled almost a fortnight ago for their pre-series preparations, got to outdoor practice was when they went through some stretching exercises on the astroturf at the National Hockey Centre last week. With only one adequate indoor facility, and that a 75-minute journey through the teeming streets, the cheerful beginning-of-term attitude within the England squad might not last too much longer.

England will name their side for the first match, against the President's XI, tomorrow, and Michael Vaughan has a problem. Although he wants to give everyone a game if possible, he also needs to get the probable Test XI as much experience of the unfamiliar conditions. The pitches are expected to be slow and low, and both batsmen and bowlers will need to adjust quickly.

"The batters need a long bat and the bowlers need a long bowl," he said. "With the weather the way it is, I think everybody must have a lot of time in the middle, including the bowlers who will play in that first Test. The bowlers will have to learn pretty quickly and we will have to come up with some good plans for them."

Spare a thought for Saggers. His arrival completed a tortuous journey which took him the best part of 72 hours. On Monday, when the call came, he was playing in South Africa. He flew straight back top King's Lynn to pick up extra kit, and then out to Bangladesh - and if the first game is a washout and England have to field their full side in the second warm-up against Bangladesh A then he might not even get to play.

Unlike several tours in the 1990s when England were roundly condemned for shutting out the realities of life in poorer countries, this time the PR machine is in full swing, with visits to a hospital and an orphanage on the agenda. It looks as if the squad will have plenty of time for both if the pessimistic predictions of the weather forecasters are right.