The word momentum cropped up regularly during the Ashes and it will be on the agenda again for England on Friday as they look to achieve the twin goals of qualifying for the knock-out phase and a measure of consistency.
Full stretch: England prepare for their match against Bangladesh in Chittagong
This has been a strange World Cup for England. They struggled in their two matches against minnows but played well against South Africa and India.
A win against Bangladesh and defeat for Ireland by the West Indies would ensure passage to the last eight with a game to spare, a comfortable outcome considering the palpitations caused by Ireland and Holland.
But there is a need for England to convince, even if only themselves, that they can be genuine contenders to win the World Cup, and the only way that will happen is by producing a resounding batting and bowling performance on the same day, a combination that has been absent throughout this campaign.
“Firstly it has been great to be involved in some thrilling games,” Andrew Strauss, the captain, said. “Personally I would have liked them to be a lot easier and have a little bit more hair on my head at this stage of the tournament, but we have shown a lot of character. We want firstly to ensure we qualify for the quarter-finals, which means we have to win this game, and secondly we want to get some consistency in our cricket. We have got this game and the West Indies game [on March 17] in order to do that, and it is important we do that by playing good solid cricket with both bat and ball.”
Bangladesh are fighting for their lives, for defeat would bring elimination, a crushing blow for a country proud to host its first major sporting event.
“The crowd is going to be 100 per cent behind Bangladesh and that is going to be a hostile atmosphere,” Strauss said. “But if you want to win World Cups you can’t have everything on your own terms. They are a very dangerous side, especially at home. We are aware they are likely to come out very determined to put on a better show than they did against the West Indies and that makes them even more dangerous.”
With that in mind England need experience, and it is likely Paul Collingwood will replace either Mike Yardy or take the spot made vacant by Stuart Broad’s injury. Collingwood had an extra session batting in the nets on Thursday and Strauss always feels reassured when he knows he can pick his brains in the field. Collingwood bowled 10 overs in a one-day international here a year ago and his off-cutters could make up for the loss of Kevin Pietersen’s off-spin. If Collingwood does replace Broad England will have to wheedle 20 overs out of Yardy, Ravi Bopara and Collingwood. Bopara operated as first-change bowler in the nets in expectation of turning his arm over in the match.
The other option is to pick James Tredwell and pack the attack with three spinners. But England have not selected three spinners since the 1980s and the two Andys, Strauss and Flower, are known for their conservatism in selection.
Seven members of the England management team, from Strauss to spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, spent a long time inspecting the wicketon Thursday, at one point bouncing the white ball hard into the surface to test its lift.
That would suggest they are tempted to call in Chris Tremlett, perhaps hoping his extra bounce will unsettle Tamim Iqbal, the whirlwind opening batsman who took two Test hundreds off England last summer.
England’s opening options are not as clear cut as Bangladesh’s, but Matt Prior appears likely to rejoin Andrew Strauss, as England revisit the tactic they ditched after the 6-1 hammering in the one-day series in Australia.
Prior appears confused as a one-day batsmen, not knowing whether to build or take a chance. But he is judged to be the best player of spin in the side and with Bangladesh likely to open the bowling with off-spinner Naeem Islam, restoring him to the top of the order makes sense.
With runs Prior could provide an answer to the opening problem and perhaps set the trend for a day when England hope to finally nail down strategy as well as consistency for the final push in the knock-out stage.
England (likely): *AJ Strauss, †MJ Prior, IJL Trott, IR Bell, EJG Morgan, RS Bopara, PD Collingwood, MH Yardy, GP Swann, TT Bresnan, JM Anderson.
Bangladesh (likely): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, †Mushfiqur Rahim, *Shakib Al-Hasan, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Naeem Islam, Shafiul Islam, Abdul Razzak, Rubel Hossain.
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