MUMBAI: The sixth edition of the NatWest series pits the oldest rivals in the history of the game, England and Australia along with minnows Bangladesh in 10 fiercely contested One Day Internationals.
The series will be aired live on ESPN from 18 June to 2 July.
For a change, World Champions Australia are on a back foot having been humbled by England by 100 runs in the Twenty 20 encounter and then loosing to the county team Somerset. However, the Australian team with world class players like Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden, Glenn McGrath & Jason Gillespie would be confident of making a quick comeback.
The schedule of the game on ESPN is as follows:
|
Team
|
Date
|
Time
|
| 2nd ODI - Australia v Bangladesh | 18 June | 15.13 to 23.00 hrs |
| 3rd ODI - England v Australia | 19 June | 15.13 to 21.00 hrs |
| 4th ODI - England v Bangladesh | 21 June | 18.58 to 00.00 hrs |
| 5th ODI - England v Australia | 23 June | 18.58 to 03.00 hrs |
| 6th ODI - Australia v Bangladesh | 25 June | 15.13 to 21.00 hrs |
| 7th ODI - England v Bangladesh | 26 June | 15.13 to 21.00 hrs |
| 8th ODI - England v Australia | 28 June | 18.58 to 03.00 hrs |
| 9th ODI - Australia v Bangladesh | 30 June | 15.13 to 23.00 hrs |
| 10th ODI - Finals | 2 July | 15.13 to 23.00 hrs |
England is riding high with recent series wins against South Africa and West Indies. Stephen Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Marcus Trescothick under the able leadership of Micheal Vaughan have transpired England as a force to reckon with in the cricketing panorama.
Having been routed by England in the test series, Bangladesh would be looking forward for a comeback. The Asian team beat Worcestershire in a tour game last week and are capable of surprising the English or Aussies in a one-off game.
The NatWest series will serve as a build up to the Ashes Series that will follow the tournament. England would love to go in to the Ashes with their nose ahead to uproot the mighty Australians. However, Australia as always will have a different plan up there sleeve.
