Preview: Bangladesh U19s v England U19s
Bangladesh have a foot in the quarter-final of the 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, having comfortably won their two Group C matches so far. There is still a set of results that could prevent them from progressing, although that's a far-fetched eventuality. That said, to be completely secure of qualification, they will need a victory at the John Davies Oval against England on Thursday (18 January).
England sauntered past Namibia in their only match so far, and will hope to edge ever closer to the knockouts with another win against fellow Group C heavyweights. That will be easier said than done though. Bangladesh finished third in the 2016 ICC U19 CWC, and are expected to at least repeat the feat this time around as well.
It should be a stern test of the capabilities of both sides.
Form guideBangladesh eased to an 87-run victory over Namibia in the opening game, and then followed it up 66-run reversal of Canada to go atop the Group C table. Those victories allowed the Tigers to work themselves into form ahead of the England clash. Given that they had lost twice to Afghanistan before the tournament, in the warm-ups and in the U19 Asia Cup, it was much-needed.
England head into this game on the back of an eight-wicket victory against Namibia in which they barely broke sweat. It meant their New Year began on the right note, after they suffered a frustrating 2017. They lost all series they played during the last calendar year, but frustratingly, many of those losses were by narrow margins. Perhaps the Namibia victory signals a change in fortunes, or so they’ll hope.
Players to watch
**Afif Hossain (Ban)**Against Canada, Bangladesh had many big perfomers, but Afif Hossain stood foremost among them – he scored half-century and followed that up with a five-wicket haul, and it was clear to see why back in Bangladesh, he has already earned comparisons with Tamim Iqbal. The all-rounder has previously impressed in his domestic T20 circuit, and could surprise England come Thursday.
**Will Jacks (Eng)**At times, Will Jacks’s hitting against Namibia bordered on cruelty – he hammered five consecutive boundaries in an over off the Namibian captain Lohan Louwrens, including a six, on his way to an unbeaten 44-ball 73. What is further intriguing about Jacks is the fact that he is considered a more than handy off-spinner. He's another another all-rounder keep an eye on.
World Cup historyEngland are one of six teams to have appeared at every ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, and won the first ‘rebooted’ ICC tournament in 1998, their squad containing five future internationals including Graeme Swann. But they haven’t made the final since then, falling four times at the semi-final stage. There is a good omen for England, however, which is that when England did win the World Cup, their group contained Namibia and Bangladesh, as it does this time.
This is the 11th appearance at the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup for Bangladesh, who made their tournament debut 20 years ago in South Africa. Enamul Haque holds the tournament record for the most wickets in a single edition of the competition, having taken 22 wickets on home soil in 2004. Bangladesh also produced the top run scorer in 2012 (Anamul Haque, 365 runs) and 2014 (Shadman Islam, 406 runs). They hosted the last edition, in which they achieved their best result of third place.
Head to headEngland and Bangladesh have clashed in as many as 29 matches since their first meeting at the 1998 ICC U19 CWC – there have been plenty of bilateral tours between them. Bangladesh, surprisingly, have fared a lot better than England, winning 18 matches to England’s 10. In their most recent encounters, during an U19s tri-nations series in 2013 that also included Pakistan, they lost two of the three matches against England.
ForecastScattered showers are expected in Queenstown on Thursday, but nothing too severe. The match should progress without much nature-related drama.
**Squads: Bangladesh:**Saif Hassan (cap), Afif Hossain, Aminul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Mohammad Naim, Mohammad Rakib, Nayeem Hasan, Pinak Ghosh, Qazi Onik, Robiul Hoque, Roni Hossen, Shakil Hossain, Tipu Sultan, Towhid Hridoy.
**England:**Harry Brooks (cap), Ethan Bamber, Liam Banks, Tom Banton, Jack Davies, Adam Finch, Luke Hollman, Will Jacks, Dillon Pennington, Savin Perera, Tom Scriven, Prem Sisodiya, Fin Trenouth, Roman Walker, Euan Woods.