England haven’t played Bangladesh in Test cricket since 2010, and they will be looking to maintain their perfect record against the minnows when the sides meet in Chittagong for the first of two matches. Join The Roar for live scores of Day 1 from 3pm (AEDT).
The nations have met eight times in the longest form of the game and Bangladesh have never come close.
While the Tigers play enough short-form cricket, their Test match exploits are limited, with the last series they played in being against South Africa about 16 months ago.
They played five Test matches during 2015, with both against South Africa drawn, another draw against India and a 320-run loss against Pakistan.
Mushfiqur Rahim will once again lead the hosts into battle and along with other top order batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes needs to get his side off to a good start.
Simply put, their bowlers are going to be outclassed by England with the likes of Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes leading the way. Therefore, a slow start with the bat will lead to disaster, and on home soil there is nearly no excuse for a top order collapse.
After the One Day International series, where England won two games to one, the tourists have played a pair of two-day warm-up matches, which have both been drawn.
While captain Alastair Cook sat out of the matches, there were some impressive signs from his potential opening partners Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed, who both piled up half centuries.
There wasn’t much else to write home about though, and the side appear to be struggling to adapt to the conditions.
It will be a different level of focus once the Test series starts, but after a drawn series on home soil during the summer against Pakistan, it has to be at least a fraction concerning for the Poms.
Prediction
England are the stronger team by the length of the straight, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be an upset. They did get beaten in one of the ODI matches, and while they should have the talent alone to get the job done, away from home you can never be sure.
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