England change for second Test, but give batsmen second chance

Given that the four dedicated batsmen England picked for the first Test against Bangladesh combined to score 96 runs in the match, you’d imagine the two changes the tourists are making for the second concern that department.

As it is bowlers Gareth Batty and Stuart Broad will give way, with the latter having to wait until the tour of India to be awarded his 100th Test cap.

With Zafar Ansari and Steven Finn coming into the team respectively these are like-for-like replacements for Alastair Cook in Mirpur.

Whether the match, and the pitch for that matter, manages to equal the entertainment served up in Chittagong last week remains to be seen, but England are once again favoured to prevail, at a price of 8/11.

The hosts can be backed at 4/1 for victory, while the draw is an 11/5 chance. That latter result may come with the most value, as two of the last four Tests at this ground have ended all-square, while the deck has historically favoured bat over ball.

If that’s the case then England’s under-fire stroke makers will breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

Cook and Joe Root had a rare quiet game in Chittagong, Ben Duckett couldn’t convert his warm-up half centuries into debut runs and Gary Ballance continued to look on borrowed time.

The latter somehow gets another chance here and will surely need a big score to hold off the challenges Haseeb Hameed and Jos Buttler are making for his place.

We’ve given the Yorkshireman a 1st innings run line of 26.5 and you can back him to fall short of that mark at 5/6. If that punt comes in, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to bet on Ballance in an England shirt again for a while.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing