The first Test match of the two-match series between England and Bangladesh will be played at Chittagong from Friday. The hosts had lost all the three ODIs, but will be happy with the kind of effort that they had shown on the field.
England will go into the game as favourites, Sky Bet offering 4/11 for an English win. After all, Bangladesh has yet to beat any Test playing nation except Zimbabwe and a second-string West Indian side and have been crushed by England in all the four Tests they have played so far. Having said that, the Bangladeshis (9/2 at Sporting Bet to make it 1-0) had had a good performance going for them in the recent Test series against India, and with their battery of spinners, they can try and delay the inevitable.
Bangladesh will obviously be affected by the Raqibul Hasan-withdrawal, and as can be gauged by the manner in which Shakib-al-hasan (5/1 at Boylesports to top-score for his side) spat venom at the whole incident. The strategies may have to change now, and a new batsman will probably get into the side. However, the bulk of all batting responsibilities will fall on the openers, Tamim Iqbal (4/1 at Blue Square for being the best batsman for Bangladesh) and Imrul Kayes (6/1 at Ladbrokes to be the best batsman of the side), both of whom have exhibited reasonable form in the ODI series before these games.
England will go into the game after having endured much criticism about the resting of Andrew Strauss in this series. The coach, Andy Flower will understand that complacency is the last word that needs to exist in the English camp, and will take measures to ensure that the stand-in captain, Alastair Cook (4/1 at Ladbrokes to top-score for England) does his bit to get the best out of the boys. Michael Carberry (11/2 at Bet365 to top-score for his side) will make his debut in the game, while Kevin Pietersen (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be the best batsman for England) has again resorted to Duncan Fletcher to try and get his form back.
Jonathon Trott (9/2 at Coral to be the best batsman for his side) had a nice little outing in the tour game and will look to regain his touch; something that had been conspicuously absent in the previous match-up. Difficult to put the money on any result except an English win, unless a miracle sees the home team through.
Tips:
Favourites: England (4/11 at Sky Bet)
Top English batsman: Jonathon Trott (9/2 at Coral)
Top Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (4/1 at Blue Square)