England conclude their tour of Bangladesh on Tuesday when the two nations play a third and final T20 of the series in Mirpur, a match which to all intents and purposes is effectively a dead rubber given where we are in the cricketing schedule.
Bangladesh have already secured the series after two pretty comfortable wins to date and they will look for a rare series clean sweep here. The plane home might already be catching the eye of the England players but they’ll look to leave with a victory.
Bangladesh
When you consider how easily Bangladesh were beaten in the opening two ODIs on this English tour of their country, a format which they are much the stronger in, they have to be given credit for the two equally as comfortable wins they have picked up in the shortest form of the game. The catalyst might have been the win in the final ODI but whatever it was they will be keen to bottle it and take it with them in T20 internationals.
I think the longer this tour has gone on the more conditions have suited Bangladesh but they have still had to take advantage of them and they have more than done that. Their motivation to beat England combined with England maybe not having this as high on their priorities has led to Bangladesh winning both matches. What has been impressive is that they have won both matches chasing so have handled the pressure both times.
England
We said it at the start of the series but you only had to look at the squad which was picked for these three matches to see where this series stood in the scheme of things for them. That has transpired on the field of play as well. England have tried hard but haven’t had the depth in their tools to move their way out of trouble when they have gotten into it. You can understand the stance they have taken with this series but it doesn’t look great when you are comfortably beaten twice.
Ultimately, nothing England have done in the two matches to date or in this final one will determine anything about their future chances in this format but there are some players who are looking to become a more regular part of this England squad who could do with a big performance to keep themselves in the picture. England probably still have enough talent to get a consolation win from this match but these are not conditions they thrive in.
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Team News
Bangladesh made a change for the previous game but it was totally understandable in hindsight given the conditions of the pitch here. Unless they want to add yet another spinner they are expected to be unchanged.
England have tinkered with their personnel throughout this tour and now they are starting to play around with the order of their batters and bowlers. One man who might drop out with nothing on this game is Jofra Archer. Mark Wood could come in for him.
Betting
Given what we have seen in the series so far it is quite incredible that Bangladesh are the price they are for this final game. Their wins in the opening two matches dictate that they are a big price but when you consider in the second match England were clearly looking at options which could be useful to them in the future they look an even bigger price. There is no reason why England won’t continue to look to the future here so Bangladesh do look a big price.
Then there are conditions. They were extremely spin friendly in the previous match and nothing is likely to change in that regard it doesn’t appear. These are conditions that England notoriously struggle in. They don’t really have the batters to deliver the goods in them and their spinners just get negated by the fact that Bangladesh play these conditions really well. Unless Bangladesh go down the England route of trying things out, which with a whitewash on the lines I don’t expect to be the case, then I think the home side can win a third straight game.
Tips
Back Bangladesh to beat England for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Bet365
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