Australia v Bangladesh, First ODI LIVE: Match Preview-Cricket News
Australia and Bangladesh will be up against each other tomorrow in the first One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series at the Sher e Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. It is an extremely important series for both countries as they are trying to
rebuild after World Cup that does not evoke happy memories.
This is a completely new territory for Australia in world cricket as they are no longer the world champions in any format of the game. The feeling will be naturally very difficult for the Aussies to absorb as they have been ruling the cricketing world for
the last 12 odd years. Apart from former captain Ricky Ponting, this is the first time for other players that the Kangaroos are not world champions.
Australians are trying to groom a new captain as well as new players for the future and presents an ideal opportunity for the Aussies to start the process against a relatively inexperienced team like Bangladesh.
Although Michael Clarke has captained Australia in past but this is his first tour as the official captain of Australian ODI squad. Explosive opening batsman Shane Watson will be his deputy.
Watson said, talking to the journalists, that it was great for Australian cricket that Ricky Ponting was still playing and his experience would be valuable for the youngsters.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 said, "I think it is absolutely brilliant that Ricky still continues to play on. Having his experience around the group is very important for our development moving forward."
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 (capt), 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 John Hastings, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Xavier Doherty.
Bangladesh had a disastrous World Cup, although they defeated England, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. So the Bangladeshi team would be looking to make amends in the ODI series
against the Aussies.
The Bengalis are rich with talent but they are not able to perform consistently. A major cause of this is their reliance on individual brilliance in the batting department rather than making it a concerted team effort.
Good news for Bangladesh is the fact that former captain and all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza is back to full fitness and will take part in the ODI series. Bengali spinners have always been effective in sub-continent but they usually face problems with the new
ball. Hopefully for Bangladesh, Mortaza can find his rhythm straightaway.
It will be a tremendous challenge for the home team to defeat the former world champions but they will be happy to avoid a whitewash in the ODI series.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rubel-Hossain-c2378.
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