06:49 AM
OVER 11: ENG 47/1 (Roy 35 Malan 5)
We’ve been having a few technical problems – apologies for that. Jason Roy has no such trouble when he on-drives Taskin quite beautifully for four to move into the thirties.
There’s an interesting subplot to this partnership, with Roy and Dawid Malan competing to open the batting with Jonny Bairstow at the World Cup.
06:41 AM
OVER 9: ENG 36/1 (Roy 28 Malan 1)
Roy continues to ride his luck, inside-edging Taskin just wide of leg stump for four.
06:33 AM
OVER 8: ENG 30/1 (Roy 23 Malan 0)
Shakib drops fractionally short, allowing Roy to slap a cut stroke through extra cover for four. Good shot. It hasn’t always been comfortable, but Roy has made his way to a useful 23 from 30 balls.
06:29 AM
OVER 7: ENG 25/1 (Roy 18 Malan 0)
Dawid Malan, England’s hero on Wednesday, is beaten by his first delivery. Taskin is such a fine bowler.
06:27 AM
Wicket! Salt c Shanto b Taskin 7
Phil Salt falls to a sensational catch! He was surprised by a bit of extra bounce from Taskin and fenced the ball towards slip, where Shanto took a brilliant two-handed catch just above the ground.
It went upstairs, with the soft signal of out, and replays confirmed it was a clean take.
FOW: 25/1
06:22 AM
OVER 6: ENG 24/0 (Roy 17 Salt 7)
Shakib has changed ends to replace Taijul Islam. He beats Roy with an absurd delivery that dips onto off stump, straightens dramatically and misses the off bail by this much.
It feels like the net is closing around England’s openers. Roy almost falls to the last ball of the over as well, chipping it fractionally short of midwicket.
06:18 AM
OVER 5: ENG 20/0 (Roy 14 Salt 6)
The impressive pace bowler Taskin Ahmed replaces Shakib – and he almost strikes third ball when Roy edges a fast-handed drive just wide of slip for four.
The next ball jags back sharply into Roy, leading to a biggish shout for LBW. Too high, but that’s a cracking start from Taskin.
06:12 AM
OVER 4: ENG 16/0 (Roy 10 Salt 6)
Salt is beaten, trying to drive a flighted delivery from Taijul that turns and bounces sharply. Batting looks pretty tricky, just as it was in the first game, and later in the over Roy slices a drive high over point for a couple.
06:09 AM
OVER 3: ENG 12/0 (Roy 7 Salt 5)
Shakib is bowling wicket to wicket, hoping to take advantage of even the slighest turn or bounce. Two runs from the over.
06:07 AM
OVER 2: ENG 10/0 (Roy 6 Salt 4)
Another left-arm spinner, Taijul Islam, shares the new ball. His first delivery is way too short, which allows Roy to smash a pull to the midwicket boundary.
He finds his length thereafter, with the ball already turning off the straight. It’ll be a challenge to work out what is a decent score, never mind post one.
06:03 AM
OVER 1: ENG 5/0 (Roy 1 Salt 4)
No surprise to see that the left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan is opening the bowling. Jason Roy pushes the first ball for a single, and then Phil Salt gets the first boundary with a handsome back-foot drive through extra cover.
05:39 AM
England aim for series victory
If England win today, they will end their longest run without a bilateral ODI series victory since 2005-06. The situation is nowhere near as bad as that statistic might suggest; it’s just that England’s relationship with bilateral white-ball series has changed. From 2015-19, they were an essential tool that allowed England to developed the aura and confidence that ultimately won them the World Cup. In the last year or so, two-team series have sometimes felt like an inconvenience, and England’s record isn’t the best: no wins, one draw, three defeats.
Nobody seems too alarmed by England’s iffy form. They’ve paid their bilateral dues and can trust that it will be alright on the night – as it was when they won the T20 World Cup last year despite some dodgy results in the buildup. But a series win never hurt anybody’s confidence, and victory in Bangladesh would be a quietly impressive achievement: England are missing most of their best top order, and Bangladesh have not lost an ODI series at home since England were last here in 2016-17.
Even so, this series is about the individual as much as the collective. Dawid Malan’s minor epic on Wednesday has surely moved him above Jason Roy in the race for a place in the World Cup squad, and Jofra Archer’s rehabilitation has so far gone to plan. Today, Saqib Mahmood and Sam Curran get the chance to stake their claim. For those on the fringes, time is running out: England have only nine more ODIs before they begin their World Cup defence.
05:36 AM
The teams in full
Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal (c), Litton Das, Najmul Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
England Roy, Salt, Malan, Vince, Buttler (c/wk), Jacks, Ali, Curran, Rashid, Mahmood, Wood.
05:24 AM
Bangladesh win the toss and bowl
Tamim Iqbal says the pitch looks a bit tacky, though Jos Buttler says he would have batted first anyway.
Bangladesh are unchanged; England bring in Saqib Mahmood and Sam Curran for Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer.
04:02 PM
Preview: After Archer and Wood, could Mahmood be next to return?
Good morning and welcome to coverage of the second ODI between Bangladesh and England at Mirpur, Dhaka. Dawid Malan steered Jos Buttler’s side home in Wednesday’s opener by virtue of a masterly innings from Dawid Malan and a canny contribution from Adil Rashid with the bat. It’s a long time since England’s best bowler has come in with a genuine opportunity to effect the result with the bat and, though Malan deserves by far the greater share of the praise, it was a significant contribution to help see off Taijul Islam’s last couple of overs after the left-arm spinner had dismissed Phil Salt, James Vince and Chris Woakes.
When Mark Wood pulled up lame with his side strain after being run out in the World Cup final, it is often forgotten that James Vince was on the field for the Super Over and the unforgettable denouement, having played in three group games during that campaign while Jason Roy was injured. He has had only six caps in the past two years but has done well, scoring 251 runs at 41.83. There are so many contenders for a batting spot in the squad for the India World Cup in October but, to his credit, he is there in Bangladesh trying to stake his claim and is such a good player of spin – and a far better player than he was during his brief Test career – that a decent score today and in the third match would reward his commitment.
After so far successfully managing the returns of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer from injury it could be Saqib Mahmood’s turn today after 12 months out of international cricket with a stress fracture of the back. “Throughout the process, I’ve had days where I’ve felt better than the bowler I was ,” he says “And then sometimes it only takes one bad session and you start to have doubts.
“When we play this tour, people will make a judgment within the first six balls of whether I’m the same or not. I’m just trying to focus on what I can do. Hopefully I am a better bowler after this.”
For Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal, 17 years into his international career at the age of only 33, has made five of his 14 ODI centuries at Mirpur. But his last was seven years and 16 appearances there ago. Bangladesh could do with their captain back at his explosive best.
Rob Bagchi
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