England Tour of Bangladesh 2022/23

England, the reigning champions of both the T20 and ODI Cricket World Cups, are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for a white-ball series in March 2023. The tour will comprise three ODIs and three T20Is. However, no red-ball cricket is scheduled for the tour. The build-up to the series, however, has been dominated by players who won’t feature in it, rather than players who will, which is a real shame for a much-anticipated series.

When did the two teams last face each other?

The last time England visited Bangladesh was way back in 2016 when they won the ODI series 2-1. The home side were led by Mashrafe Mortaza, while Jos Buttler led the English side on that occasion as well, with Eoin Morgan missing the series. Seven years on, a lot has changed for both teams.

Only three players from either side who played in 2016, will likely feature in next month’s series. Bangladesh’s middle-order trio of Mahudullah, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have carried on, while Buttler, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid hung around from an England perspective.

In this modern age of T20 cricket, it is astonishing to find out that England and Bangladesh haven’t played a bilateral T20 series together. The upcoming tour will feature the first-ever bilateral T20 series between the two sides, as they previously met only once in the shortest format, which was during the T20 World Cup in 2021.

Tour Schedule

The first two ODIs will be played on March 1 and 2 in Mirpur, followed by the third and final ODI on March 6 in Chittagong. The T20I series will start on March 9 in Chittagong, and the last two matches of the series will be played in Dhaka on March 12 and 14.

Can Bangladesh surprise the reigning white-ball champions?

On paper, it is looking very difficult, although they are going to play against a second-string England side. Although many of their first-team stars will be missing, England still possess a quality side.

But Bangladesh are a very hard side to beat when they play at home, be it in any format. India found that out the hard way last year when they were beaten 2-1 in the 3-match ODI series. In the last four years, they have lost just four of the 13 ODI series they have played. At home, their last loss was actually against England in 2016.

Much of the credit has to be attributed to the rise of Mehidy Hasan Miraj. The all-rounder dazzled with 330 runs and 24 wickets in 2022, including his maiden century against India. He will once again be the key man for the home side.

Litton Das is another batsman to watch out for. After a stellar World Cup in Australia, Das is yet to fire in the ODI format as skipper. The experienced trio of Mahmudullah, Shakib and Mushfiqur will have to carry the batting line-up but the form of both Mushfiqur and Mahmdullah is a huge worry for the home side. They will be up against the likes of Archer and Topley, which will be a huge challenge.

The bowling is in safe hands, with fast bowlers Ebadot Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman in good form, while Mehidy and Shakib will share the spin responsibilities. Both off-spinners will be a handful for the inexperienced England batting line-up.

While their ODI form has been great, their performances in the shortest format have been on a downward spiral that has culminated in a first-round exit at the T20 World Cup. More often than not, their undoing has been the lack of power hitters in the side.

Young batsmen like Najmul Hossain and Afif Hossain along with Litton Das will have to shoulder the batting responsibilities. The bowling, led by Shakib, will fire if the conditions aid the slow bowlers. A lot depends on the kind of wickets dished out in Chittagong and Dhaka.

Predicted ODI squad for Bangladesh:

Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Anamul Haque, Ebadot Hossain , Mahmud Ullah, Shakib Al Hasan, , Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim , Mustafizur Rahman, , Hasan Mahmud, , Nasum Ahmed, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Taskin Ahmed and Nurul Hasan Sohan.

How are England gearing up for the series?

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced two warm-up matches on February 24 and 26 before the ODI series. England is set to arrive in Bangladesh on February 20. The ODI series will be part of the World Cup Super League, but both teams’ participation in the upcoming World Cup in India has already been confirmed.

However, England will be without at least 15 regular players for the tour. Some of them will be unavailable due to the two-match Test series against New Zealand scheduled from February 16 to 28, while others will miss out due to injury or their commitments to franchise cricket.

The ECB has named Tom Abell of Somerset, who has not yet been capped, in the limited-overs squad, and the teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who performed well in his Test debut in Karachi last December, has also been given a maiden call-up to the white-ball squads.

Jofra Archer, who recently made a comeback against South Africa, will be a part of both the T20 and ODI squads. Archer’s involvement will surely tip the scales in England’s favour but it will be a closely contested ODI series. The T20 game might suit the English batsmen more with Bangladesh’s abysmal record.

This series was scheduled to take place in September 2021 but was postponed due to England’s players’ involvement in the IPL. Bangladesh have a new head coach in Chandika Hathurusingha, who takes over the reins for the second time having coached them from 2014-2017.

Series Prediction

The ODI series will be tightly fought but we are going for Bangladesh to win it 2-1 in home conditions. The T20I’s are a different ball game and we predict a 3-0 whitewash in favour of England. Catch the live score here.