Cricket World Cup 2019: England need Jofra Archer to blow away Bangladesh

We break down the group match between England and Bangladesh at Cardiff today

Jason Roy (England): The opening batsman will do what he does best which is to try and go after the opposition bowling early in the innings. He will know he is dealing with a more than decent pace attack. But he if he can get his team off to a good start, that will be half the battle won. Andrew Boyers / Reuters

Jos Buttler (England): The middle-order batsman, who scored a brilliant century against Pakistan albeit in vain, is peaking in his career at the moment. He will almost certainly required to have a go in the latter overs of the innings to take the England total to 300-plus. Jason Cairnduff / Reuters

Jofra Archer (England): One of the most exciting fast bowlers today, Archer's pace could help keep Bangladesh's aggressive opening batsmen at bay. The earlier he can force the arrival of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim to the middle, the better for England. Alex Davidson / Getty Images

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh): Possibly Bangladesh's greatest cricketer of all time, Shakib will be tasked with scoring the bulk of his team's runs and taking crucial wickets with his left-arm spin. David Rogers / Getty Images

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh): Along with Shakib, Mushfiqur is the more important batsman in the Bangladesh line-up, and he will be probably need to score a hundred to give his team the chance to post a match-winning total. Cooper / PA Wire

Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh): The left-arm fast bowler may not bowl with as much zip as he used to before he was sidelined by injury not too long ago. He is still a very dangerous bowler who is capable of making early inroads, which he will need to do to put pressure on England's middle order. Alex Davidson / Getty Images

What is it?

2019 World Cup group stage match

Who is playing?

England v Bangladesh

When is it?

Today, 1.30pm (UAE time) start

Where is it being played?

Cardiff Wales Stadium, Cardiff

How to watch in UAE?

Tune in to OSN Sports Cricket HD or create an online account with Wavo for US$54 (a little less than Dh200). The account will provide customers access to two channels, OSN Cric Xtra 1 and OSN Cric Xtra 2.

What’s their head-to-head like?

Matches: 20

England won: 16

Bangladesh won: 4

Form guide (past five games):

England: LWWWW

Bangladesh: LWWWW

What they said:

Eoin Morgan, England captain, on his teammates' mentality: "We've remained in a head space where we believe we can still win the game, and that shows, probably a lot more to us than to our supporters. They see an exciting team the majority of the time and when we lose games, we want to see character. We want to see another side of our game."

Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh captain, gives England a backhanded compliment: "I think this is one of the best teams England have ever produced, especially in the World Cup. I think still they are in the right way, winning matches, and they are in good touch. But, on the other hand, obviously I know there was a little bit of pressure that the people are expecting that England will take the trophy this time."

Likely XIs:

England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammed Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammed Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman.

Summary:

England are runaway favourites win today, but they will be mindful of a Bangladesh unit that is vastly improved and increasingly confident against the world's 'elite' sides. Both teams go into the Cardiff game having won their respective opening matches, incidentally against South Africa, before losing thereafter - England to Pakistan and Bangladesh to New Zealand. Conditions will favour the hosts, and they have a more explosive batting line-up, but they will need to send Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim back to the pavilion as soon as possible. Also, watch out for Mustafizur Rahman's incisive bowling at the start of their innings.