Bangladesh may come out very hard on England to make up for their humiliating defeat against West Indies and to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, skipper Andrew Strauss warned his side.
Bangladesh will go into the match knowing that a defeat would make tournament nothing but a mere formality having already lost two games badly that also seriously damaged their run-rate.
Unlike many others, Strauss, who averages a Bradman-like 98.66 against Bangladesh, said they are a much better side than the tournament table suggests at the moment and can bounce back anytime.
‘They are a very dangerous side at home,’ Strauss told reporters on Thursday.
‘We are aware that they will come out very determined to put up a better show than they did against West Indies and that will make them even more dangerous,’ he said.
‘It’s a must-win game for Bangladesh, so they will be 100 per cent committed to the game and we got to make sure that we are better than them on the day,’ said Strauss.
The England captain said spinners and crowd will be biggest strength for Bangladesh and they will have deal with both the groups well if they want to come away as the victors in the game.
‘Crowds are going to be 100 per cent behind Bangladesh and it’s going to be a hostile atmosphere for us,’ said Strauss.
‘But if you want to win World Cup you can’t have everything on your own terms and you have got to be able to deal with that.’
‘Bangladeshi spinners are of a very good quality. We faced them in the past and they are as good as any spinners in the world. We have got to be very respectful and careful about how we approach them,’ said Strauss.
Apart from the crowd and spinners, the only other fear for them is opener Tamim Iqbal, who has a particular liking for the England bowlers, averaging 32.14 against them with an impressive strike rate of 104.65.
‘I think we know little bit more about him as a player now,’ said Strauss. ‘We have to make sure we get our plans right straightaway from ball one, otherwise else he will get off to a quick start.’
Strauss was hoping the game will not turn into another thriller having already been involved in a number of sea-saw battles that gave them a taste of all possible results – a tie, a defeat and a win.
‘Firstly, it has been great to be involved in some thrilling games. 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,’ said Strauss.
‘We have shown a lot of character in a couple of those games and we want these last two to be less close if I am honest,’ he said.
Courtesy of New Age