Cricket:After joining up with the England squad as a replacement for Kevin Pietersen earlier this week, Eoin Morgan will slot straight into the starting line-up when England meet Bangladesh tomorrow.
The Dubliner, called up after Pietersen was ruled out of the tournament with a hernia, is already pencilled back in at number five. Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad’s replacement, will also start in dry and dusty Chittagong.
Morgan was himself replaced in England’s World Cup squad when the advice was that he would need surgery on a broken finger sustained in Australia only for the injury to heal much more quickly than expected.
“We are very fortunate we have two ready-made replacements in Eoin Morgan, whose finger has just recovered in time, and Chris Tremlett — who bowls very similarly to Stuart Broad and has been with us and is used to the conditions,” England captain Andrew Strauss said today.
Bangladesh came spectacularly unstuck against West Indies in Dhaka last week. But Strauss will not be under-estimating a team who beat England in a one-day international at Bristol eight months ago and — in opener Tamim Iqbal — have a player who made two belligerent Test hundreds and four 50s from eight attempts against them last year.
“They are a very dangerous side, especially at home,” said Strauss. “They have got a lot of shot-makers in their top order and some very good spin bowlers.
“We are very aware that they are likely to come out very determined to put on a better show than they did against the West Indies, and that makes them even more dangerous. It is a must-win game for Bangladesh and they are going to be 100 per cent committed.”