ICC World Cup 2023: Can England bounce back from demoralising defeat?

The failure of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid , where New Zealand’s part-time spinners Glenn Phillips and Ravindra succeeded, was particularly dismaying

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England's Joe Root during a practice session on Monday. — PTI

By Ayaz Memon

Published: Mon 9 Oct 2023, 10:08 PM

Blown away by New Zealand in their opening match, defending champions England must regroup swiftly and stymie unforced errors to ignite their campaign.

Against the Kiwis, the team was let down in both batting and bowling. Most batters got their eye in then gave away their wickets away through misplaced cockiness.

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The fact that they bat deep, almost till no.11, became a millstone rather than a virtue as rash self-indulgence took over.

Even so, 282 looked defendable considering the purchase New Zealand’s bowlers had got from the pitch, but England’s bowlers flopped badly.

A nine-wicket defeat is huge in this format, but what will have hurt England is the manner in which they were walloped by Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway.

The failure of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid , where New Zealand’s part-time spinners Glenn Phillips and Ravindra succeeded, was particularly dismaying.

On paper, Bangladesh look considerably weaker than a team loaded with superstars. But white ball cricket can be astonishingly topsy-turvy.

Moreover, in a facile victory over Afghanistan in their first match, the Shakib Al Hasan-led team looked to have the arsenal – and the desire – to do well in this tournament. More runs from the top order would make them even stronger.

Today's match:

England vs Bangladesh

HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala

9 am UAE Time

Teams:

England (possible): 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.

Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Mahmudullah/Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Head-to-head

Matches 24

England won 19

Bangladesh won 5

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Ayaz Memon

Published: Mon 9 Oct 2023, 10:08 PM

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