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.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of Day 1 from 3pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
JimmyB
Guest
Having 4 spinners might help somewhat in that regard. Fair play though, all the same.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Great effort by Bangladesh underlining why they should be getting more test matches. With them a very able side, particularly at home. Also, a fighting effort by England who could have easily crumbled when they were 21/3 with king pins Cook and root back in the shed but showed real fight pointing to the very decent test side they are. They have a decent total now with the pitch already spinning, but if they get to 350 it will put real acid on the resolve of a young Tigers outfit that is immature in the demands of test cricket
Paul Potter
Roar Guru
Obviously 14 months between Tests left them a wee bit scratchy on how quickly to bowl your overs. But seriously, well done to them.
Scott Pryde
Expert
92 overs in a day. In the allotted time. Just let that sink in. Congratulations Bangladesh. Shame on all the rest.
Homer Gain
Guest
The persistence with Ballance is strange. The player has a flawed technique which is demonstratively failing at Test level (and has showed sharply diminishing returns at 1st Class level too). We are told the player has no intention of revising his technique despite the fact that he keeps getting out in the same way (ie precisely the way you'd expect for someone who plays as he does). I'm all for ignoring the coaching manual iif you can make alternatives work.. But Ballance is proof that sometimes orthodoxy has its place.
Paul Potter
Roar Guru
Harsh call. Ballance will probably struggle, but he's a ten year type. England's batting depth isn't so strong that Ballance can be dismissed that easily. Incidentally, he probably wouldn't have played in my hypothetical team either - I think Bairstow should play as a specialist batsman - but to describe him as a walking wicket is off the mark.
SP
Guest
Gary Ballance? english cricket is in a poor state if that walking wicket gets a gig.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Great start by the Bangladeshis.