Eoin Morgan says no extra pressure on England ahead of Bangladesh clash

Eoin Morgan says England will continue to focus on their strengths as they aim to return to winning ways against Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday in the Cricket World Cup.

Morgan’s men suffered a 14-run defeat to Pakistan on Monday as they fell short of a target of 349, despite centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler, the captain left to rue a sub-standard fielding display.

Tournament-hosts England now face an upbeat Bangladesh side that squashed South Africa in their opening match and tested New Zealand before the Black Caps secured a tense two-wicket success.

Bangladesh are aiming to beat England for a third World Cup in a row after emerging as victors in the games between the teams in 2011 and 2015 – tournaments which featured their experienced quartet of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim.

“It is going to be a difficult game,” admitted Morgan. “They are a good side. I think people underestimate them; we certainly don’t.

“They are a side that has played a lot of cricket, their senior players, especially, have played a lot of games – even more so than our senior players. So they are a threat, but hopefully we can play well and overcome it.

“They played well against South Africa and put New Zealand under pressure; they are a side with a huge amount of potential.

“If you look back at probably the earliest recognition I remember them taking a step forward, I remember them playing Australia here [in Cardiff] in 2005 and winning.

“Since then they’ve been exposed to a lot more cricket and become a better side, particularly at home.”

England rotated their seam attack at Trent Bridge, bringing in Mark Wood for Liam Plunkett, but, with Cardiff conditions likely to be more seamer friendly, both could play, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid at risk of missing out.

Asked if there is a good case for including Plunkett, Morgan said: “There could be. It’s another day where the wicket is under the covers. The wickets that have been played on here so far have been a bit greener and seamer friendly, so that’s a potential [option], yes.”

Morgan said England are not feeling any extra pressure going into the match and offered an insight into the players’ preparations.

“All we’ve talked about is sticking to what we do well – looking at our strengths previous to the tournament starting, we talked about losing games and how we’d react and what we’d counter that with,” he said.

“It goes back to focusing on ourselves and how we win games of cricket and how we get the best out of ourselves.”

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said his nation’s two previous World Cup wins would have little bearing on Saturday’s match.

“We have beaten them but it doesn’t mean that we will make it happen again the way it did,” he said. “Both teams start from the first ball, so it’s very important for both teams to start well.

“I think obviously this is one of the best team England have ever produced, especially in the World Cup,” he added. “I think still they are in the right way winning matches, and they are in good touch.”

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Bangladesh squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Abu Jayed, Liton Das (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Mithun (wk), Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal

Watch England take on Bangladesh live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (ch. 404) and Main Event from 10am on Saturday, with over-by-over commentary across our digital platforms. Then join us from 1pm on Sky Sports Mix and the red button on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup for Afghanistan’s clash with New Zealand.

(c) Sky News 2019: Eoin Morgan says no extra pressure on England ahead of Bangladesh clash