Mirpur set for cricket's triumph

When the first One-Day International gets underway at 2.30pm today, the brave England cricketers are set to be adored with deep gratitude in the form of a lush green carpet and an expected packed, passionate audience at the home of Bangladesh cricket in Mirpur.

Every series has its importance. But England's series in Bangladesh, which includes three ODIs and two Tests has got special significance in Bangladesh's cricketing existence in the aftermath of a terror attack on Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1 that claimed 22 lives and made headlines across the world. The atrocity by fundamentalists understandably threw the series into uncertainty on security fears but it was thankfully revived after frantic activities from the Bangladesh government and more importantly after a bold and forward-looking stand by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

There is no denying that the VVIP security arrangements that Bangladesh has promised to the visiting England team and a demonstration, which was on display at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday, would have meant little had England not considered 'security fears' a global phenomenon.

And make no mistake; the moment the first ball of the series is bowled, cricket will triumph pushing all the other issues including the heavy security arrangements, which are of course a necessary distraction, into the background.

The series, especially the one-day part will also test the two most attractive teams to the limit since their last meeting was in the 2015 World Cup down under, where Bangladesh pulled of a stunning 15-run win and threw England out of the showpiece event from the group stage.

That win in Adelaide started the journey of a vibrant new Bangladesh, who not only made it into the World Cup quarterfinals but also transformed their home into a fortified den -- winning a stunning six series on the trot. And this kind of consistency has made the Tigers from pretenders to predators.

England, on the other hand, took that painful Adelaide blow to transform into a completely different side, which compromised conventionalism with aggression. And the evidence of that aggression was aplenty over the last one year or so culminating in the highest ODI total of 443 for three against Pakistan barely two months ago.

England, under stand-in-captain Jos Buttler, has already shown that they are here to carry on with that attacking intent, comfortably chasing the down BCB XI's 309 despite a middle-order wobble in the lone practice game in Fatullah.

But it remains to be seen if the fresh wickets in Mirpur, which were not used against Afghanistan, would suit English stroke-makers.

For the home side everything looks in order apart from the puzzle of who will open the innings with Tamim Iqbal, who geared up for the series with a fantastic hundred against Afghanistan in what was Bangladesh's 100th ODI win last week. With Soumya Sarker repeatedly failing with the bat, Imrul Kayes stakes a rightful claim to open the innings with Tamim after hitting a fabulous 121 off 91 balls in the practice game against England. The home team think tank are yet to make up their minds regarding the final eleven, understandably to be guided by the nature of the wicket in Mirpur, which tends to play a bit differently in overcast conditions. 

There may be still a close-door debate on whether there will be a sporting wicket or the home side will try to tweak it to gain some advantage. But from the perspective of a true cricket lover, exciting cricket and not the kind of cricket they played against Afghanistan, is the demand for the Tigers if they are to carry on the momentum that started with that famous Adelaide victory.