World Cup 2019, Match 12, ENG vs BAN: Predicted Playing XI for England
Hosts England will be looking to get their World Cup 2019 campaign back on track when they square off against Bangladesh at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff today.
After a 104-run drubbing of South Africa in their opening encounter, England's bowlers failed to contain the Pakistan batsmen on a belter of a pitch as half-centuries from Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed took Pakistan to 348-8 from 50 overs.
England's chase got off to a poor start with both openers back in the hut with just 60 runs on the board until composed centuries from Joe Root (107) and Jos Buttler (103) steadied the chase for the hosts.
Yet, once Joe Root departed post a 130-run stand with Buttler, England failed to hold on to their advantage as the Pakistan seamers made short work of England's lower middle order that handed the hosts their first loss of the campaign.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, enjoyed a terrific start to their World Cup opener with an impressive show against South Africa that handed them a 21-run win, giving them some much-needed confidence heading into their game against New Zealand.
However, against New Zealand, only Shakib Al Hasan's 68-ball 64 was an innings of substance as Bangladesh was skittled out for just 244 in 49.2 overs, setting a strong Black Caps batting unit a modest target of 245.
While the top four batsmen did get starts and Ross Taylor led the way with a spectacular 91-ball 82, New Zealand's middle order almost succumbed to the pressure of the scoreboard as they lost three wickets for just 27 runs with the spin trio accounting for two wickets each.
However, Bangladesh's pacers failed to keep the pressure intact as the Kiwis completed a two-wicket win and against a very strong England batting line-up, it remains to see how the Bangladesh bowlers stand up to the task of restricting the batsmen.
In light of the clash, here is how England could line-up for this encounter.
Jason Roy will occupy his position at the top of the order and will look to convert his starts into big scores. Roy made a half-century against South Africa but failed against Pakistan and will be eyeing a big score today.
Jonny Bairstow went for a duck against South Africa but made amends with a mature knock against Pakistan and could be pipped to enjoy a good game against a relatively weak Bangladesh bowling unit.
Joe Root lit up the contest against Pakistan with the first century of the 2019 World Cup and will be banked to continue his good show against Bangladesh. Skipper Eoin Morgan, who scored a half-century against South Africa, fell early to spinner Shadab Khan and will be key to play out the spin threat from Bangladesh.
Ben Stokes's match-winning show against South Africa was quite a stark contrast to his performance against Pakistan and he will be gunning for a top all-round show again. Jos Buttler's pyrotechnics with the bat in hand that earned him a century against Pakistan could well propel England to a massive score on the board against Bangladesh.
Moeen Ali has not had the best of games with the bat but a three-wicket haul against Pakistan will give him the much-needed confidence going into this game. Chris Woakes' decent show against Pakistan, where he picked up 3/71 from eight overs, could see him leading the pace attack yet again.
Jofra Archer will undoubtedly hold the 'X-factor' with his ability to extract pace and bounce off the surface as the pacer will be hoping to reverse his poor wicket-less show against Pakistan. Liam Plunkett could come in place of Adil Rashid, with the latter failing to make any considerable impact in the two games thus far.
Mark Wood impressed in his first game against Pakistan with 2/53 from 10 overs and will be looking to make optimum use of the seaming conditions in Cardiff to cement his place in the playing XI for this World Cup.
Probable Playing XI:
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer.
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