Key events
Morning! Small boundaries, fast outfield, a dry surface – Bangladesh need to bountiful runs here to try and prevent a clean sweep for England. Grab yourself a coffee and hunker down, this chilly March dawn. Do send me an email with your Monday morning thoughts.
Bangladesh team
Bangladesh XI: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Najmul Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Asif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.
One change, Ebadot replaces Taskin.
18 year old Rehan Ahmed makes his England ODI debut!
England XI: Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, James Vince, Sam Curran, Jos Butler (c, wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer.
Three changes: Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes return, Rehan Ahmed makes his debut – at 18 years 206 days, the youngest male ODI cricketer for England.
Bangladesh win the toss and will bat!
It should be a spinning pitch at hot and humid Chattogram. Tamim Iqbal says he thinks the pitch looks dry and will spin a bit in the second innings.
Preamble
Good morning! The series won, the silverwear polished, Bangladesh’s hard-fought home record shredded. But there seems little chance of England dialling it in at Chattogram. This third and final ODI is a trial of sorts – a last chance for fringe World Cup players to shake their tail feathers until the autumn.
Today’s game is the final ODI England’s white-ball squad will play until September, when New Zealand fly in for a World Cup warmup just days before the ICC deadline for World Cup squads. Points, therefore, mean prizes.
As for Bangladesh, beaten in a home series for the first time in nearly seven years, England’s visit has been an eye-opener as to just where they stand against the top-ranked ODI team in the world, to be on the receiving end of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Sam Curran in full flow.
Play begins at 6am (GMT). See you there!