Bangladesh V England Test Series 2016

[sussexpob]

Our batting could make 500 or 150 they are so mercurial.

England only have 2 x scores of plus 450 since the 2012/13 New Zealand series. Both were in drawn games on batting paradises.

The chances of this stuttering and unprepared line up suddenly firing England into new territories over the last 3 years... very doubtful

Far from England being Mercurical, they have been consistently under par. If their better players dont save them, none of the newbies have done the business.

England can win, but they need Root and Cook to score big. If both fail in an innings, England are going to get hammered.

[shankycricket]

If Mustafizur was fit, I'd have given Bangladesh the edge. Without him, England should win 1-0 or at worst draw both the Tests. Can't see a 2-0 though.

[m@tt]

I see Agnew is saying that he is going for Hameed and Ballance on the fact both offer solidity.

One has never played a test, the other is scraping a 30 average since 2014.....

SOLID

It was an odd article - almost everything he said in favour of Hameed could be applied to Duckett. Duckett is 21, he is a long-term bet, he knows how to bat long (as evidence by several career double-tons) and so on. Agnew almost dismisses him as a slogger.

And the "why take him if you don't play him" argument is just... argh... it's a squad, you don't have to pick everyone.

[m@tt]

In the final practice Duckett went in to bat with the top 3 and the media say he will make his debut to open with Cook.

I'm glad they've gone for Duckett - I wanted him to play, either opening or at 4. I can understand why they've opted for him to open and to offer a more balanced opening pairing; and also to give Ballance more of a chance to nail down his spot.

[Making_Splinters]

It's a tough one no doubt about that. Ballance is technically the man in possession and it would be a trifle odd to take him as part of the squad and not play him in the first Test. That said, Duckett's performances in the ODIs and warm up games mean he demands a place in the side, I'd have him opening with Cook.

The media seems so wrapped up with glorifying Hameed they seem to have forgotten he's had a single decent first class season and one decent enough knock in a warm up. I've lost count of the number of times he's been compared to Boycott and a young Root. Stop and think about the fact that Boycs is one of the best openers England have ever had and Root is the best batsman England have had in 20 years, then it all seems a little preposterous.

I would not have Hameed and Cook opening together in the subcontinent where we simply have to score off the new ball when the pacers are on, if he is to play I'd have him at 4 where he can hold together one end while the spin assault is in full flow. I really don't think he is ready for Test cricket as of yet, but hype is hype.

[bigfluffylemon]

Duckett's all set for debut according to all the media reports. Good luck to him. Obviously a talent, but England really need some stability in the batting line-up, especially the top order. I know he's never coming back, but it's hard to imagine that England would have been worse off for having KP in the batting line up for the last two years rather than the likes of Vince, Ballance, etc.

Cook's about to break another England record. There are barely any left for him, at least in terms of longevity. He's even got the England record for most catches (as an outfielder). The only one I could find is most matches as captain, and by the end of this series he will be equal with Atherton on 54. And he's still only 31 - easily another five years to play if he can stay fit.

[Dr Cricket]

Ben Duckett and Batty plays.

[Dr Cricket]

Don't forget guys the game is live on Sky sports mix today.

[Gingerfinch]

Good luck to Duckett, and Batty. I take it Batty is deemed a better bowler than Ansari?

[Dr Cricket]

Heard he was the spinners captain plus coach in the field.

[Dr Cricket]

didn't expect bangladesh to join the bandwagon of spinning decks from day 1.
nice to see them join India and Sri lanka only UAE needs to join the club.

[Gingerfinch]

Our batting could make 500 or 150 they are so mercurial.

Could be looking nearer 150 on this occasion!

[hopeforthebest]

Oh dear the usual 3 down for nothing. I missed a lot with that extra hour in bed.

[bigfluffylemon]

Oh FFS England.

I'm so fed up with tuning in and discovering England being 30something for 3 or 4 down. Seems to happen all the time.

I even statguru'd it to see if I was making it up.
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... ew=innings

On no fewer than 8 occasions since the start of 2015 has England's third wicket gone down for fewer than 40 runs, out of 25 matches - approximately one match in 3.

England aren't quite the worst on this front though - in the same timeframe it has happened to Sri Lanka 10 times and WI 8 as well, and both have played fewer matches than England.

In the same time period, Pakistan have been in that situation just once, India and Australia 3 times each. Is it any wonder they're the ones vying for top ranking?

[Dr Cricket]

TBH did say this tour will be tough, really not sure what Vaughan was seeing.