Preview:
Marcia, a category five cyclone, has wreaked havoc along the coast of Queensland, and although it is expected to reduce to category one by the time it reaches Brisbane, it has already put the Group A clash between co-hosts Australia and Bangladesh in doubt. Michael Clarke, who is set to return to international cricket after a long break due to injury, might have to wait longer as the match at Gabba is likely to be affected by weather.
A 20-over contest is a possibility according to the ICC but talks of ticket refunds are already doing the rounds. This will be Australia's second match of the tournament after they won their opening clash against England in comfortable fashion. Bangladesh, who faced Afghanistan a few days back, emerged victors in their first match as well.
Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane
Date: February 21, 2015
Time: 0900 Hrs IST
Weather: Temperatures between 22-26C. Heavy rain.
Team news
Australia:
A missed opportunity proved costly for England as Aaron Finch made them pay with a fine century in Australia's opening match, while Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey also came good with the bat. However, the stand-in skipper might have to make way for Clarke, who has recovered from a hamstring injury he sustained during the Test series against India. In the bowling department, it was Mitchell Marsh who did the damage, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul, while Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc also got amongst the wickets.
While most of the batters did well, Shane Watson and Steven Smith failed to deliver and Australia will be hoping that their poor performance against England is just an aberration. Australia also have a concern with their spin bowling department with Maxwell and Smith going for a few in the same match. These issues apart, Australia have a strong line-up with their batting order extending up to No 10, while they also have eight players who can do a fair job with the ball.
Australia captain Clarke said the XI for the match has been decided, but did not reveal the combination as changes could be done at the last moment keeping a curtailed affair in mind. In case the game does take place, Bailey sitting out is almost a certainty, although there are reports that the Australian team management is having second thoughts about including Shane Watson. It is also reported that Pat Cummins could replace Josh Hazlewood, who had an ordinary outing in the previous game.
Probable XI: 1. David Warner, 2. Aaron Finch, 3. Shane Watson, 4. Michael Clarke (capt), 5. Steven Smith, 6. Glenn Maxwell, 7. Mitchell Marsh, 8. Brad Haddin (wk), 9. Mitchell Johnson, 10. Mitchell Starc, 11. Pat Cummins.
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh were below par in their warm-up matches against Pakistan and Ireland and a top-order collapse left them in a lot of trouble against Afghanistan, before Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan bailed them out. Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah, who scored fine half-centuries against Pakistan, failed to deliver against Afghanistan, while the likes of Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque and Soumya Sarkar also did not contribute much. While the experienced pair of Shakib and Mushfiqur will be expected to play key roles in the batting department, Bangladesh will be hoping for the rest of the batters to provide solid support.
Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza was terrific with the ball against Afghanistan, finishing with figures of 3 for 20 in nine overs, while Shakib, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Mahmudullah also did a decent job. However, the bowlers will have a tough job going up against a formidable Australian batting order, and they will not have any margin for error.
Mortaza said Bangladesh would like to do away with the concept of 'winning combination', which means a couple of changes are possible. They went in with eight batsmen against Afghanistan, but might look at a seven-four combination for this game. Mominul Haque might be the batsman to make way for left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.
Probable XI: 1. Anamul Haque, 2. Tamim Iqbal, 3. Soumya Sarkar, 4. Mahmudullah, 5. Shakib Al Hasan, 6. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7. Sabbir Rahman, 8. Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9. Taijul Islam, 10. Rubel Hossain, 11. Taskin Ahmed.
Watch out for:
The swashbuckling David Warner was off to a superb start against England, but his outing was cut short when a terrific delivery from Stuart Broad beat him for pace. The left-handed opener will be eager to bounce back with a commanding performance, and Bangladesh better get themselves ready to be sent on a leather hunt.
Anamul Haque, the 22-year-old right-handed opener, has a lot of talent and his batting ability has impressed all. The elegant batsman that he is, Anamul has not been able to translate it into useful contributions. It will do Bangladesh a lot of good if he looks at the World Cup as a platform to prove his abilities.
Quotes:
'As much as we would like to get out on that field and continue our form in the World Cup, we need to realise how bad this cyclone is and care most about the people of Queensland.' - Michael Clarke.
'I think it is negative to think of only the one point (in case of an abandoned game). We are preparing to play a full match. We don't want to play a curtailed game as forming a team combination becomes harder.' - Mashrafe Mortaza.
Stats:
It is close to 10 years since since Bangladesh last won an ODI against Australia. In the 19 games they have played so far, Bangladesh could emerge victorious only once - in the Natwest series match in Cardiff in June 2005. Michael Clarke and Mashrafe Mortaza are the only two active players who participated in that game.
Teams:
Bangladesh (From): Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Soumya Sarkar, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Sabbir Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam Australia (From): Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke(c), Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin(w), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, George Bailey, Xavier Doherty
