The security issue has dominated the build-up to England's tour of Bangladesh, but, hopefully, when the first ODI comes calling on Friday, all focus will shift to matters on the field. England come into this one-day international series in good form, having thumped Pakistan, while Bangladesh shook off a bit of that rust with a much-needed three-match series win over Afghanistan.
Bangladesh, as they have shown in past series, are a formidable unit at home – the bowling plays to their strengths and the batsmen know what's required, irrespective of the situation.
With world-class players like Shakib Al Hasan in the team, this Bangladesh outfit are a tough nut to crack at home, even if England will breathe a sigh of relief over the absence of Mustafizur Rahman. Just how much Bangladesh rely on Mustafizur was evident in the ODI series against Afghanistan, so England will want to take full advantage of the left-arm medium pacer missing out due to injury.
Bangladesh, of course, are more than just Mustafizur and Shakib, with the likes of Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman growing in stature with the bat, while Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain, returning to the team after missing out Afghanistan series, can cause problems to any batsmen on their day.
Apart from dealing with the quality the Bangladesh have, the England players will also need to move on from all the security fears that led to Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales pulling out of the tour. Just concentrating on the on-field job at hand and batting away all the potential off-field posers will be essential if England are to enjoy a successful series against Bangladesh.
The tour began reasonably well with England getting a good workout against a Bangladesh Select XI, which included the likes of Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim and Al-Amin Hossain.
Chasing a target of 310, after Kayes struck a brilliant century, England needed rescue acts from Jos Buttler, the captain in the absence of Morgan, and Moeen Ali to see them home, albeit comfortably in the end.
"It was a good run-out, a great performance," England all-rounder Chris Woakes was quoted as saying by the ECB's official website. "To chase down over 300 is also a good chase so we are really pleased.
"It was hot, we've only been here a few days. A day game in this heat is always going to be tough when the sun is at its hottest, but we've come through it. We will be better for the fact that we've spent the full 50 overs in the dirt. We are really pleased with the way it's gone.
"It's (the first ODI) a day-night game so hopefully won't be quite as hot. Acclimatisation is something we have to do – it'll take a little while, but hopefully we will be right for Friday."
Bangladesh vs England: First ODI.
Date: Friday, October 7.
Time: 2.30pm local time (2pm IST, 9.30am BST).
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka.
TV listings: India: Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD4. Bangladesh: GTV and BTV. UK: Sky Sports 2. USA and Canada: Willow TV. Middle East: OSN Sports Cricket.
