Andrew Strauss was right when he said, upon arrival here after dark on Friday, that it had been “a long journey physically and metaphorically”. Since the Holey Artisan Bakery was stormed by terrorists three months ago, with 20 hostages, including many foreigners, then killed, rarely has there been a cricket tour in the past decade subject to so much scrutiny.
But the tour has begun, so out with the scrutiny and up the security. The influence of Reg Dickason, the hard-nosed Australian expert whose review declared Bangladesh fit for touring, is there for all to see. Strauss, England’s director of cricket, spoke just after the players had been whisked through a VIP customs exit at the airport, before the team bus was escorted by heavily-armed police through crowds desperate for a glimpse.
As the team manager, Phil Neale, and Bangladesh Cricket Board officials waited to gather the squad’s myriad bags – so many that they need a private hold on the plane – in the arrivals’ lounge, a growing crowd did their best to read the labels as the bags zipped round the conveyor belt. The sporting excitement regarding the cricket is multiplied due to the sheer gratitude at England’s decision to tour. Australia cancelled a tour and withdrew their under-19s from the World Cup even before the Dhaka attack; had England jilted them, Bangladesh’s cricketers would likely have faced a nomadic existence.
If that goodwill is palpable, so is the security at the team hotel. Staff say it is as heavy as it has ever been and is possible to be, with police at the gate, military on the door and watchful eyes patrolling each floor. The Bangladesh and Afghanistan teams – whose three-match ODI series ended on Saturday – are also staying here and the BCB have set up station in the lobby, giving it the sense of a little cricketing compound, tucked away beyond the crowds.
The ring of steel has descended and it seems – even though members of the media have been running through the surrounding streets – England’s cricketers will see little of Bangladesh except the view from the bus travelling to and from the ground when training begins on Sunday.
Also travelling, alongside Strauss, is the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive, Tom Harrison. The pair see their trip as a statement of intent and support for the team, are delighted with Dickason’s work so far and happy to be here.
Notably absent are Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales, but England are also without their coach, Trevor Bayliss, marooned in Sydney until next week with visa troubles. Mark Wood and Jimmy Anderson will not be coming; concern appears to be growing that the latter’s shoulder will prevent him travelling to India.
What remains is a callow but scintillating set of players. Morgan, Hales and the rested Joe Root leave gaping holes at the top of the batting order, with the onus on Jason Roy, a relative veteran with 18 months’ ODI cricket, and Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, the captain and vice-captain. The prospect of a debut – in both formats, but initially with Roy at the top of the ODI order – for Northamptonshire’s Ben Duckett is particularly thrilling for those who have followed his progress, all 2,706 runs of it, this summer.
In the past month Duckett claimed a triptych of prestigious awards (the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Player of the Year and an unprecedented, peer-voted double at the Professional Cricketers’ Association awards), committed his future to Northants and smash his third and fourth Championship tons of the season, the smallest of the four, two of which became doubles, was 185, and embarked on his first full England tour.
“People have said to remember why I’m here, not to shy away from it,” he said. “At times in the past I’ve tried to be a player that I’m not, which is why I haven’t been successful. This year I played with freedom. David Ripley [the Northamptonshire coach] told me to play my game. At times that won’t come off, but when it does, cash in and that has been the main thing for me this year.”
It seems unlikely, then, he will abandon his un-English relish for dismantling spin bowling, notably seen when he scored 220 and 163 (both unbeaten) against Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s A teams for England Lions in July. If the weather holds – monsoon season is just ending but there is talk of rain next week – much fun lies ahead for Duckett and the rest.
