After what happened in their opening game, England will not be taking Bangladesh lightly and will need to be completely focused if they are to get their World Cup campaign back on track. They are facing a good side who are very comfortable with the conditions, which would have been much more familiar for them even if they hadn’t already played in Dharamsala, when they beat Afghanistan on Saturday.
England will have watched that game very closely, taking notice of the players’ form as well as the state of the outfield, and will have their plans in place for a game that will be played at a relatively small ground and at altitude. If the ball flies around it could really suit them.
By now they will have put the New Zealand game behind them; one of those days when nothing quite clicks. They came out to be aggressive as they normally do, but the Kiwis withstood a bit of an early onslaught and kept plugging away with the ball – and then they were absolutely sublime with the bat.
Devon Conway is a special player, one of very few in world cricket who can bat at the top of the order in Test cricket, playing a certain way, and then come out and open brilliantly playing a different way in one-day cricket. It’s a rare talent. He’s fairly advanced in years, has good experience, and the depth of knowledge that will allow him to control his emotions in the heat of battle.
Rachin Ravindra is at a different stage of his career, and whatever your allegiance it was wonderful to see a young player batting with such flair and freshness, bursting on to the scene and making a name for himself. I think New Zealand were underestimated by many before the tournament started, as they often are, but it was a terrific performance that showed they are likely to be there or thereabouts once again.
The talk from the coaches and analysts in England’s dressing room in the days since the game will be of match-ups and minor improvements. The fact the bowlers struggled so badly against two left-handers will have been noted, and plans made for similar situations in the future.
All the bowlers went around the park, but it was a breathtaking batting performance and hopefully a one-off, when none of the performers England have relied on for so long hit the right level. In particular, I always look for Adil Rashid to work a bit of magic in the middle overs but, though he was less expensive than the seamers, he was far from his best. Hopefully this is not the shape of things to come because his form and fitness are going to be key.
There is no reason to despair. The batting display was not far off the right level, but the constant flow of wickets stopped England putting together a killer partnership. In the circumstances, playing excellent opponents in their first game after preparation that was far from ideal, with one warm-up match washed out and the other abbreviated, they should not be overly perturbed: people hadn’t had a huge amount of time in the middle and they will be better for the workout.
And they stayed true to their attacking philosophy, which always carries risks but has been proven to pay dividends in the long term. The one positive was that Joe Root played exactly how I think he should as a classy No 3, knocking it around at roughly a run a ball in a fairly conventional manner, albeit with the occasional reverse ramp. If he is playing like that, providing the glue over a long innings, it allows all the other players to bat with absolute freedom.
It is a role Dawid Malan can also play, but if he goes early it is then on Root to settle into it. By replacing Jason Roy with Malan, Ben Stokes, until he recovers from his hip injury, and Harry Brook, England have made a significant change to the dynamics of the team, and maybe the batting is not as high-octane, but there is still great quality there, and that aggressive intent. For as long as Stokes is sidelined that batting unit is pretty set, and I am sure that sense of clarity will have helped them in their preparations.
There is more flexibility among the bowlers. I was a little surprised that Sam Curran took the new ball in the opening game, but other players will get their chance. He is a combative cricketer who gives a lot to the team and is very adept with his change-ups, using the pitch with his cutters and slower balls, but David Willey probably swings the new ball more and Reece Topley would bring something different with his height – facing someone tall who hits the deck from that left-arm angle would be a new challenge for Bangladesh’s batters. I expect to see one of them play in the next game, particularly given that Chris Woakes struggled to get any swing against the Black Caps.
Of course we know that England lost three group games on their way to winning the trophy in 2019, but the tournament the match reminded me of was the 1992 World Cup. That year Pakistan lost to West Indies by 10 wickets in their first game of the tournament and were bowled out by England for 74 in their third, when they were saved by rain in Adelaide. The format was like this year’s, with everyone playing each other in the group stage, and my mind immediately went back to those humbling performances, and also the fact Pakistan went on to finish fourth in the group and come through the knockout games to beat England in the final. In the end, quality shines through – and despite their bad start I would still heavily back England to do very well in the tournament.
