England vs. Bangladesh: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Cricket World Cup Preview
England will play Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval on Monday, March 9, in a must-win match for the Three Lions. The Tigers currently occupy the fourth spot in Pool A of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and if they win on Monday, England are out.
Even with a win, England's chances of progressing to the quarter-finals will be slim, as Bangladesh's net run rate is currently vastly superior, but if the Tigers lose to New Zealand, England could sneak past them in the standings with a win over Afghanistan.
None of that matters right now, however. Beating Bangladesh is the task at hand for Peter Moores' men, and that in itself might be a challenge too difficult to overcome.
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Date: Monday, March 9
Time: 2 p.m. local time/3.30 a.m. GMT
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Australia
TV info and live stream: Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN (U.S.) ย carry full coverage of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, with mobile coverage available via theย Sky Go appย andย ESPN Cricket 2015.
Preview
It's been difficult to find many positives for this England squad during the 2015 Cricket World Cup, with the Three Lions having already suffered embarrassing defeats to New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka.
Even captain Eoin Morgan is clutching at straws these daysโafter his team failed to defend 318 against Sri Lanka, he told the Guardian's Mike Selvey he was proud of his team scoring 300 in the first place:
"It was the second time we had scored 300. Joe Rootโs hundred was magnificent and the way Jos Buttler played at the end was outstanding and our last 10-12 overs were brilliant and backing that up after Scotland was very important for us as a side.
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England's batting hasn't been fantastic. James Taylor is leading the way with a batting average of 46.66, but the team's struggles with the bat pale in comparison to the group of bowlers. Stuart Broad isn't producing nearly enough with the bat to make up for his economy of 6.27, which seems to be about the average rating for all bowlers that qualify.
Moeen Ali does his best with 5.41โby comparison, Bangladesh have three players who do better, and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan comes in just behind Ali with an economy rate of 5.45. And as cricketer Scott Styris reminded us, the Tigers' biggest strength is their batting, not their bowling:
Bangladesh gave up 318 runs on a good batting wicket against Scotland, but even faced with such a daunting chase, they never panicked. With Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Al Hasan leading the way, they have the explosive batting to chase down just about any score.
The Tigers have won seven of their last eight ODIsโtheir match against Australia was a washoutโand need just one more win to qualify for the quarter-finals. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra is already calling Monday's match a "pre-quarter-final:"
It's hard not to like their chances in the Adelaide Oval, arguably Australia's best batting ground with short boundaries square of the wicket. Taylor's team-leading batting average of 46.66 is bested by three Tigers, none of which will be playing with the pressure of knowing a loss automatically results in exiting the tournament.
As shared by Five Live Sports Extra's Adam Mountford, Bangladesh are rounding into top form at just the right time:
England have to believe in their chances, but to say their situation looks dire is to put things mildly. Moores' men need a minor miracle to qualify, and beating Bangladesh in itself already seems nearly impossible.
The Tigers haven't been great with the ball, but they've been better than England. And if Monday's contest turns into a shootoutโwhich is not unlikely, given the wicket it will be played onโyou have to back Bangladesh's batsmen to pull out a win.
Final prediction: Bangladesh win by at least two wickets/40 runs.
All statistics are courtesy ofย ESPNย Cricinfo.
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