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Match facts

October 20-24, Chittagong
Start time 10.00am (0400GMT)

Big picture

The first Test is the meeting of a major force in Test cricket and an irregular participant. Bangladesh are resuming the format after a gap of more than 14 months, while by the end of year England will have played 17 Tests in 2016 including seven in eight weeks on the subcontinent.England have won all their eight Tests against Bangladesh – by comfortable margins as well, although sometimes after plenty of toil – but arguably are not the overwhelming favourites that history would suggest given the potential of a youthful top order and continued questions over their spin bowling.While they should still be the front-runners – the success in the ODI series will have boosted confidence in the conditions, although there is a significant turnover in personnel – given the oppressive heat and humidity, the lack of preparation time for some players and inexperience in others, they will be guarding against being too comfortable.Alastair Cook will become England’s most capped Test player, and will have to lead from the front in conditions he is familiar with, having toured Bangladesh as the U-19 captain in 2004 and later in his first assignment as Test captain in 2010. He is set to open with a newcomer, either Haseeb Hameed or Ben Duckett. The latter has impressed having scored four fifties during this tour – he could yet slot in at No. 4 – and Hameed showed his willingness to battle the new conditions during the warm-up matches.Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow will have to take care of the rest of the batting line-up while Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes will have to lead the bowling attack in the absence of James Anderson. Much focus will be on Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali and they are set to be joined by a third spinner with 39-year-old Gareth Batty, who played his previous Test in 2005, the favourite.The home side has a solid top six but due to injuries, loss of form and their 14-month break from Test cricket, have to make five changes since their last game. Much of their fortunes will depend on Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, though England will know not to count out Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah.But Bangladesh’s bowling will depend heavily on Shakib Al Hasan, who will have Taijul Islam for help though the rest of the attack may contain two Test debutants.Chittagong will pose the usual Bangladeshi challenges for the visiting team but, so far, England have been willing to roll up their sleeves. They have trained extra hard to get used to the heat and the pitches, as was seen during their sessions since the ODI series.So in their first meeting in more than six years, England and Bangladesh both have significant challenges to face. Once they come face to face, it could turn into a better contest than on paper.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)Bangladesh DDDLD
England LWWLD

In the spotlight

When it is England, much of the focus is on Tamim Iqbal who made the four Tests in 2010 memorable with his rapid scoring which including two centuries. His average against England, 63.12, is his highest against teams off which he has taken more than 500 runs.Ben Duckett has made four fifties on tour so far, and has looked more comfortable applying his own game into the local conditions than many of his more accomplished team-mates. Duckett is likely to make his debut, and could be a handful for the Bangladesh attack.

Team news

Bangladesh’s top six will be exactly the one that played the last Test, but the rest of the line-up will be changed. Sabbir Rahman and 18-year-old offspinner Mehedi Hasan are most likely to make their Test debuts and if the home side go with two pace bowlers, Kamrul Islam Rabbi would also be making his debut. If Mushfiqur keeps wicket, Nurul Hasan will be sitting out.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Kamrul Islam RabbiEngland will have to make at least three changes from their last Test XI, with Alex Hales (opted out), James Vince (dropped) and James Anderson (injured) unavailable. There was a late move which favoured Duckett opening with Cook and Hameed missing out, which would mean Gary Ballance retaining his place. The third spinner spot is between the Surrey pair of Batty and the uncapped Zafar Ansari.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Gary Ballance, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Gareth Batty, 11 Stuart Broad

Pitch and conditions

There is likely to be a slow pitch, which wouldn’t give any batsman a comfortable start. The spinners are likely to get more purchase after the first day but again it will be on the slower side. Dust bowls could appear but not until later in the contest. After the rain which threatened the ODI, the forecast is for it to be hot and sunny.

Stats and trivia

• The 14 months and 20 days since their last Test is Bangladesh’s longest duration between two Tests. The previous longest was exactly 14 months between June 4, 2010 and August 4, 2011.
• None of those in the Bangladesh squad has played 50 Tests, with Mushfiqur the highest with 48 caps.
• England are likely to have just two survivors from their previous Test in Bangladesh – in Dhaka during 2010 – with Cook and Broad having played on that occasion, although Steven Finn was also in the XI.
• Jonny Bairstow needs 43 runs for 2000 in Tests.

Quotes

“It is nice to be addressed as captain after a long time.”
“It’s going to be a very special day tomorrow on a personal note. This game is not going to be remembered for a personal thing, it’s going to be a team performance, but it’s going to be a special day to overtake a record of such a fantastic England cricketer.”

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said he is against the idea of splitting Test cricket into a two-tier structure, ahead of an ICC meeting in Dubai next week to discuss the proposal. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Thakur said the proposal was “fundamentally against the basic purpose and identity of the ICC.”According to the proposal, which enjoys the support of the cricket boards of Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, the two-tier system would comprise seven teams in the top tier and five in the bottom. Afghanistan and Ireland, as the leading Associate teams, will join the three regular Test playing nations in the bottom tier.”As the governing body of the game, the ICC’s job is to popularise the game and increase its global reach,” Thakur said. “On the contrary, this system may be good for the top five countries, but apart from that, everyone else will suffer. On the one hand, we say we need to support teams like West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, while on the other, by bringing up something like this, we will cut their legs.”This is the third time in the past month that Thakur has spoken publicly about the BCCI’s reservations on the subject. In early August too, he had reasoned it would hurt the smaller countries, whose interests the BCCI wants to guard. Last week again, he alluded to his opposition to the system on the sidelines of the two T20Is between India and West Indies in Florida.Thakur said the one big ramification, if the ICC was to adopt the proposed two-tier system, was that it would directly impact the smaller countries financially.”Currently, these teams make good revenue from TV rights when bigger nations like India and other countries go and play against them. Their revenues will nosedive and they will struggle further to support their cricket at the grassroots level.”Elaborating further on his stance, Thakur said that going by the logic of the two-tier system, marquee series like India v South Africa or England v Australia were top draws.”And Bangladesh v England or Sri Lanka v Australia won’t have that much support from the viewer. Just imagine if people are not watching a top team against a lower-ranked team, will they watch two lower-ranked teams playing against each other? This will further escalate the problem of viewers losing interest. At least today, when a so-called weaker nation is playing against a top-ranked team, exceptional performances are noticed, improvements are sought and benchmarks are set.”But going by rankings alone, Thakur pointed out, would be turning a blind eye to reality. As an example, he provided Sri Lanka’s whitewash of Australia at home in the three-match Test series. “In a game of cricket, no nation should be taken lightly. The recently-concluded Australia versus Sri Lanka series is evidence of that. Sri Lanka, who are in danger of falling under the tier two category, annihilated Australia 3-0. How would that have happened had there been no series between them? So, it can’t be said that only top nations will produce top cricket.”It is understood that apart from the support of some leading boards, the move to implement a two-tier system is being backed by one of the ICC’s main commercial partners. Concerned about the fall in TV ratings in bilateral Test series, the system has been designed to enable more frequent “marquee clashes” that can generate more eyeballs, and, as a direct result, attract greater value from broadcasters. Thakur was unconvinced that a formula such as this could work in the long run.”Commercial partners have a key role to play in the growth of the game,” Thakur said. “Their concerns should be addressed and we should give them a fair hearing. But, at the same time, we have to see that the administration of the game cannot be seen from the standpoint of the balance sheet only. There needs to be a balance and we need to look at the overall health and growth of the game.”Dipping TV viewership of Test series is a cause of concern, but two big nations playing against each other all the time won’t guarantee you viewership. The recently-concluded India versus South Africa series was a battle between two top nations, but the TV ratings didn’t reflect the stature of the teams. The reasons for decline in viewer interest in Tests are far more complicated than what they appear. Changing the format of the FTP will be like applying band-aid to an issue that needs proper scanning and research. On one hand, we say we want to develop the game in new areas, and on the other, we are making top countries wealthier and the lower-rung countries weaker.”We oppose the system despite knowing that it will result in a financial windfall for the BCCI if implemented. But, as one of the key stakeholders of the game, we can’t be shortsighted and we need to take everyone along.”According to Thakur, the proposal should have been discussed by a “limited” set of people instead of being deliberated at the board level. “This proposal should have been discussed by a limited number of people before being brought to the ICC table, and, frankly, should have been rejected at the proposal stage itself. Our focus is to hand-hold and strengthen global cricket. As a leader, BCCI is clear in its goal to expand the game, make it popular in new areas and strengthen existing members as well.”This kind of two tier system works very well to support domestic cricket or where you have a larger pool of teams and the staging state associations are supported by their parent body and are not under pressure to generate their own revenues, or in leagues where things are considered strictly from a commercial perspective. As the global guardian of the game, we should have a larger perspective and bigger objectives.”Thakur’s comments can be expected to resonate positively with the boards that will be directly impacted if such a system is implemented. Sri Lanka Cricket, for instance, already made its opposition to the split format clear in July, as have the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The West Indies and Zimbabwe boards, already battling financial troubles, are also unlikely to back any move that will dent their bottom line further.

It feels too early to start shouting this, so let’s whisper it: it looks like South Africa are back. Perhaps not back to their absolute best and definitely not back to the team they were when they were No.1, but back in business.This series win is not going to become the stuff of legend and there were times when it seemed like New Zealand cared it about it more – after all, it is New Zealand who have never won a series against South Africa – but it will become seen as the marker for when South Africa began anew.Calling themselves a team in transition more than two years after the retirements of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis and four years after Mark Boucher’s had become a crutch, and South Africa knew it. They had already transitioned but they did not like what they had transitioned into. They were a team stuck in a rut. They lost five out of eight Tests last summer, in their worst season since readmission, and were badly affected by injuries and uncertainty.To solve those problems, they did not hold a training camp before the series. They sat around and talked.A large group of members of the national squad and those who might be considered for selection in the next few years were summoned to a bonding and strategy session. They plotted what they have started to call their “new mission.” They don’t want to share all the details but they have revealed that part of the plan will be to play more aggressively.In their first attempt at applying that, in Durban, it failed when over-eager batsmen gave their wickets away. In their second, at Centurion, they attacked with their traditional strength – the bowling – and it worked as well, if not better than it always has.Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada have formed a formidable fast-bowling trio that offers everything from swing and seam movement to pace and bounce but those are only half the reason they are so dangerous. The other half is that they just don’t let up. Philander is the one with the reputation for putting the ball in the same area and the moving it just enough to create uncertainty but Steyn and Rabada maintain the same intensity through long periods of time.There is never a stage in a Steyn spell when a batsmen thinks he can relax. Even when he has been hit for a few runs, even at the end of the day, even when it seems one over can just meander into the next, Steyn runs in with blood on the brain. Just when you think he is out of your face, in steps Rabada. He does not intimidate in the same way – there are no eyes, no veins, no tattoos – there is just pace, a lot of it. Rabada averaged 142.6kph in the first innings, more than anyone else.That is the big difference between the two sides. Even though New Zealand’s quicks have many of the same qualities as South Africa’s, they are not as regularly ruthless. In Tim Southee and Doug Bracewell, in particular, batsmen can rely on getting enough loose balls to be able to score off. Trent Boult’s skill and Neil Wagner determination were stand-out aspects for New Zealand but they needed more discipline from the rest of their attack if they wanted to properly challenge the South African batsmen.In Durban, New Zealand encountered a South African line-up coming in from the cold with some of its biggest names out of form, and cashed in on that. At Centurion, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis hit their stride and were more difficult to dislodge. South Africa’s second innings gave New Zealand a glimpse of what could have been but by then, they had conceded a massive lead and their focus had to shift to how their own line-up could put on an improved showing.That was where New Zealand let themselves down most. Their line-up went from solid to soft in the space of two sub-Saharan African countries and it has as much to do with the quality of the opposition as it does with the weak spots in their current set-up.At the top, Tom Latham could not replicate his form in Zimbabwe but it is Martin Guptill who will concern them most. Three years after making 1, 0 and 1 in his first three Test innings in South Africa, nothing had changed. Guptill still struggles against the moving ball and there is evidence of that everywhere. In the 59 times Guptill has been dismissed by fast bowlers, he has been caught by the wicketkeeper or in the slips 24 times.That alone made the case for New Zealand to have tried Jeet Raval in Zimbabwe to see what he could do but they may not have wanted to use him in South Africa because it would add to their inexperience. WIth Henry Nicholls at No.5 and Mitchell Santner batting as high as No.7, there was the risk of an over-reliance on Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. When neither fired, New Zealand could not sustain their flickers of promise.The difference came down to that: South Africa had more experience and more quality and even New Zealand’s best efforts at preparation could not overcome those things. Rightfully, South Africa displaced them from fifth on the rankings to occupy the spot themselves.It will be another eight weeks before South Africa are able to build on the gains they have made and they will have to do so in someone else’s backyard. A three-Test tour of Australia in November is their next assignment, before they host Sri Lanka and travel to New Zealand. That gives them nine more Tests before Russell Domingo’s contract as head coach is up and enough opportunity to climb even higher. It is too early to say whether it will keep him his job but the noise that he was the reason for their decline and could not possibly oversee their rise will become whispers.South Africa’s under-fire coach kept a low profile all series, even on the day they won. It was the same day he turned 42. At least he had a happy birthday.

Ben Stokes was forced out of the England attack with a calf injury during the afternoon session at Old Trafford and may well have played his last Test cricket of the summer.Stokes was two deliveries into his sixth over when he pulled up sharply having delivered the ball and was unable to stop a gentle push back past him from Younis Khan. He was unable to complete his over and limped off the pitch.An ECB spokesman confirmed the injury was to Stokes’ right calf and said he would not bowl again on the fourth day. That means the England attack has been reduced to four men as they attempt to bowl Pakistan out and level the series. Pakistan were 66 for 2 when Stokes left the field before the man who finished his over, Moeen Ali, struck twice.It was later confirmed that Stokes will be sent for an MRI scan on Tuesday. If he has sustained a torn calf muscle, rather than a strain, he could well be out of action for six weeks. The third Investec Test starts at Edgbaston on August 3; the fourth at The Oval on August 11.Stokes, who had earlier generated impressive pace and had Younis dropped at slip by Alastair Cook, was making his return to the Test team having sustained a knee injury earlier in the summer. He was forced off the pitch at Headingley and subsequently underwent surgery.

ScorecardJohnson Charles added 151 in 13.4 overs with Shane Watson•Getty Images

An unbeaten 94 from Johnson Charles at a venue where a stand has been named in his honour helped St Lucia Zouks record their third successive win at home and surge to No. 3 in the CPL 2016 points table.Charles’ unbeaten second-wicket stand of 151 with Shane Watson helped Zouks chase down Guyana Amazon Warriors’ 159 for 5 with 23 balls to spare. Despite a deflating loss, Warriors, currently No. 2 with five wins in eight matches, were well placed to secure a berth in the top four.Jerome Taylor struck in the fourth over to dismiss Nic Maddinson after Darren Sammy, the Zouks captain, had chosen to field. But any semblance of control they may have had over proceedings soon disappeared as Dwayne Smith and Chris Lynn sent them on a leather hunt. The pair brought up a century stand for the second wicket before Sammy dismissed Smith. At that stage, Warriors were 113 for 2 in 15.3 overs, with Smith’s measured 51-ball 56 containing five fours and two sixes.Four of Lynn’s six sixes in his 45-ball 86 came following Smith’s dismissal. But quick strikes at the other end helped Zouks go into the break with momentum on their side. Watson was largely responsible for that, finishing with 2 for 27 in four overs.Sohail Tanvir gave Warriors a near-perfect start with the ball when he clean bowled Andre Fletcher in the third over. But it didn’t seem to have any effect on Watson as he crashed two boundaries off his first three deliveries to kickstart Zouks’ chase. At 33 for 1 in five overs, the match was on an even keel, before Zouks broke away courtesy an 19-run over from Orlando Peters, the medium pacer, with Charles hitting two sixes and a four.Comfortably placed at 91 for 1 at the halfway mark, Zouks needed just 37 more deliveries to complete the victory. Charles sealed the win with a boundary off Adam Zampa, the legspinner, as Zouks recorded their fourth win in seven matches.

The emergence of Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the stories of Indian cricket in 2016. From making an impact in Australia in January, where he helped India bounce back from a trouncing in the ODIs to sweep the T20s, to lifting the team to an unlikely victory in a must-win game against Bangladesh in the World T20 in March after he had begun badly with the ball and in the field, he has shown he can deliver when the odds are not in his favour. Following another match-winning performance against Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Bumrah said it took a change in temperament to get him to where he is today.”When I started to play cricket, I used to be very aggressive, I used to do stupid things. But the more I played, I realised the calmer I am, the better it is for me when I bowl”, Bumrah told . “I tried to be cool, so the mind would work more. And if you use your brain, then it will help you to bowl well as well.”Bumrah displayed his wicket-taking ability in this series; he has nine wickets in three games, including two four-fors, striking every 17.2 balls. He said he focused on “containing the batsmen”, as he often looks to do in the shorter formats, and the wickets followed.”Whenever I try to take a wicket, I never get a wicket. So I just try to contain the batsmen in the shorter format,” he said. “Whenever you’re bowling well and you try to contain, the batsmen take some risks, and in that manner, you’ll get a wicket. That was my basic plan – not to go for the wickets, but just bowl in the correct areas, so that would help me take a wicket.”Bumrah’s natural ability to bring the ball in to right-hand batsman makes his yorker dangerous, but on Wednesday he also got the odd ball to straighten and that fetched him wickets. Bumrah credited his coaches in first-class cricket and the IPL for the new addition. “Earlier, I didn’t have that ball, I only used to bring it in. But after playing the IPL and first-class cricket, I have learnt quite a lot with the experienced coaches,” he said at the post-match press conference. “I have developed this ball over the years, which is helping me as that gives me more options to dismiss the batsman.”Most of all, the surface for the third ODI demanded that he stay patient, he said. “It’s always good when the ball is moving, you can try all your variations, you can try all your lines, the outswinger, the inswinger, incutter, outcutter. But on this wicket, there wasn’t as much help as in the previous two matches. So over here, we had to be a bit more disciplined and not try anything [too varied].”So I think we were trying to stick to the basics, and bowl a normal line and length and not give the batsman any room. Don’t give them runs so that they try to play some aggressive shots and that will give us the best chance to take a wicket.”Bumrah has become a regular in the Indian attack in limited-overs internationals over the past six months, a period in which he has had a chance to play four times as many T20Is – as well as the IPL – as ODIs. Prior to the Zimbabwe series, Bumrah had only played one ODI, his debut in Australia. While Bumrah acknowledged that the two formats provided very different experiences, he said he personally did not make big changes for each. “In T20 cricket, the mindset is different because you only get four overs. Mostly, you get two overs upfront and two overs at the death. That’s a different ball game; the batsmen are more attacking in that.”In this, there are 50 overs, so the batsmen sometimes take their time to play their innings. But I keep the same mindset. I try to stick to my strengths and try to do whatever I know. I try to do nothing out of the box. That helps me and I’ll try to stick to that.”