Cricket World Cup 2019 Preview – Saturday, June 8th, 2019
England will be looking to get back to their familiar winning ways when they take on Bangladesh on Saturday in the World Cup. After being brought back down to earth in their second fixture by Pakistan, England will be starting to feel a little bit of pressure. Will they see off Bangladesh who have already caused an upset in having toppled South Africa?
England v Bangladesh Odds*
England 1/8
Bangladesh 5/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on June 7th, 2019 at 10:44 p.m.)
Can England rediscover winning touch?
So after their opening, controlled win over South Africa, England suffered a defeat against Pakistan. Their bowling and fielding was well below the standards which has been expected of them, in that match. For the top side in the world in the ODI format, they looked really flat and just lacked the spark on the day. They then failed to chase down the target of 349 that had been set them. If they had done, it would have been the biggest successful run chase in the history of the World Cup.
So it is on to Bangladesh now for England. The bookmakers have them as strong 1/8 odds on favourites for this one* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on June 7th, 2019 at 10:44 p.m.). But will nerves and pressure be a factor for them in this clash at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff? They know that they need a big performance to try and steady the ship. They need to shake off that Pakistan defeat. The hosts had been expected to win that game as Pakistan were on an eleven match losing streak, four of those against England.
England v Bangladesh Head to Head
England last met Bangladesh at the Oval in an ODI fixture and produced an eight-wicket win. That is back to back ODI wins over them that the English have taken. In the last five meetings in this format, England are W3 D2 against Bangladesh.
Spirited Bangladesh a threat
Bangladesh have already shown what they can do. They pulled off a big shock in their opening fixture of the tournament. They successfully defended a 330 score against South Africa, winning the fixture by 21 runs in the end. Not many would have seen that victory coming. Their second match was then against New Zealand and they didn’t go down without a fight in that defeat.
They had been limited to a 244 total, which the Kiwis were expected to chase down easily. But Bangladesh did a great job of getting pressure on them, limiting the boundaries from New Zealand. In the end, they still fell, but by only the two wickets at the Oval. There has been plenty of gusto about their performances so far, and as underdogs, they will relish their chance in Cardiff against the tournament hosts.
England v Bangladesh Predictions
England have a mixed record at Sophia Gardens. They have alternated between a win and a loss in their last seven fixtures there. Their last ODI there was against Australia last summer, with England taking a 38 run victory. England incidentally have lost the toss in each of their last five ODI matches in Cardiff.
Bangladesh are not to be underestimated, but England need to hit back hard especially with their openers forming a good partnership. Jonny Bairstow to top score at 3/1* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on June 7th, 2019 at 10:44 p.m.)
