When the England fans frist heard that we were scheduled to play Bangladesh, many were sceptical. This is not the best preperations for the Ashes. But the minnows will be hoping to prove the world wrong by putting in some brave, hearty performances. All the odds are against them, but that is what motivates them most. Dav Whatmore has said he will push them to the limits, and that they want to surprise themselves. They will not be put off from England's intimidation, such as Steve Harmison promising to be ruthless. They have a young team with some budding stars, and have improved greatly over the years. Although they have struggles in Test Cricket, their determination is something to admire. Here, we look at the Bangladesh squad in detail:

Habibul Bashar (C)

Habibul began his captaincy just over a year ago and recently, at home to Zimbabwe, made history by becoming the first Bangladesh skipper to win a Test match and a one-day series.

Clearly he is our number one batsman in terms of his record - with 2299 Test runs coming into this series he has almost twice as many as anyone else in the side.

He has been an inspiration from that point of view.

And he will be looking to improve his figures further and help the team with his leadership on this tour.

Khaled Mashud

He is Mr Reliable in many ways with his batting - often he has come and rescued the team with a 20 or a 30, holding the innings together further down the order.

He is experienced, brings a bit of calmness to the group and is always in control with the gloves on.

Khaled captained the side until after the 2003 World Cup.

Mohammed Ashraful:

Potentially a match-winner, he has the ability to score fairly quickly and his unbeaten 158 against India just a few months ago was testament to that - as good an innings as I've seen from any player.

He was the youngest player ever to score a century on Test debut but one stage was left out of the side because of some indiscipline in his batting

However, he regained his place after scoring heavily in domestic cricket and the time out looks to have done him the world of good.

He is also a very good fielder and on occasions is more than useful with his leg-breaks.

Javed Omar:

Javed will want to do something on this tour because he hasn't got too many years left in him and would love to finish up doing something really good for his country.

He also backs up as a reasonable fielder and, being an experienced player, is able to assist the younger ones in areas that are difficult to measure - off the field, in the dressing-room and on the morning of the match.

Rajin Saleh:

A hard-working right-handed middle-order batsman, he would like to get some runs on this tour because there are many occasions when he has got a start only to get out.

He brings a lot of energy into the group with his positive fielding, anywhere from bat/pad to slip to a run-saving condition

He was vice-captain for a little while and stood in for Habibul Bashar during last year's ICC Champions Trophy in England.

He is very keen and works very hard at his game and has got a lot of years ahead of him if he is able to consolidate his position in the team.

Aftab Ahmed

A young right-handed batsman who comes from Chittagong, he is a very natural player.

He has impressed most of the teams he has played against in his short career and has the ability to show everyone he has the technique and the style.

A little bit like Mark Waugh in my opinion he has got all the shots and is also very useful with some medium-pace bowling, which he has applied very well in one-day cricket.

He is also quick in the field and has a good pair of hands so he is multi-skilled.

Nafis Iqbal

Nafis is a promising young right-handed opening batsman and I think he has got a good temperament for that position.

He has not been playing international cricket for that long, yet he has got an international hundred and also a fifty.

Even before making his international debut he scored a century against England in a tour match when they visited late in 2003.

He is one to look out for in the future as he has the ability to occupy the crease for a long time and is technically very sound.

Shahriar Nafees

A product of the A-team, with whom he made a hundred in Zimbabwe recently, he is a left-hander who bats high in the order.

In the last year and a half he has been impressive in all forms of cricket.

We haven't got too many left-handers so that aspect makes him very useful and he may make his debut in England.

He is fully focussed and very keen to get ahead with his game and is working as hard as anybody to gain a Test place.

Mohammad Rafique

Probably unlucky not to have played more Tests in his career, he is a left-handed spinner who knows that little patch of his run-up and the 22 yards of pitch very well.

He thoroughly enjoys spin bowling and spends hours in the nets.

He has developed his batting and is one of very few people to have scored a Test hundred batting at nine, against West Indies in St Lucia last year.

I always think it is a bit dangerous to go into a Test without at least one spinner, whatever the conditions at the start, so he is likely to feature.

Enamul Haque Jr

A young left-arm spinner who first played Test cricket when England toured last year, he and has impressed quite a few.

I think he has tremendous potential. He's a genuine spinner of the ball, possesses a pretty good loop and is developing his variations.

He was the leading wicket-taker during the 2004 Under-19 World Cup and could have a long career at senior level.

Mashrafe Mortaza

This kid has the capability to develop not just as a fast bowler but as an all-rounder.

He is a natural, which is a wonder because in his short career he has had two knee reconstructions, both of which have put him out for a year.

He's a very good bowler, able to move the ball both ways off the wicket and with a strong desire to beat the bat.

He's a country boy from a small town called Norail and had barely played first-class cricket before making his Test debut.

Tapash Baisya

A very hard-working medium-pace bowler, in many ways he has had the shoulder the responsibility of the attack for the last year or so.

But now he has some support with Mashrafe bin Mortaza coming back from injury.

Hailing from a country town called Sialet, he is one who never gives up. He has a big heart and even if he gets hit around a bit he will give full effort.

He has had a small problem with jumping out on delivery but we're correcting that and he has shown that he's been able to bowl more accurately as a result.

Anwar Hossain Monir

One of five fast bowlers that we have brought over, he has got a very good action that lends more consistency and is maturing nicely.

He has been around Bangladesh cricket for a little while, going in and out of the team, and is more of a squad player.

He just finished a very good series for the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI on tour in India with his persistent line and length

His role might be more as a workhorse but he is fully aware of that and if he gets an opportunity I'm sure he will take it with both hands because he has been itching to play.

Talha Jubair

When he burst onto the scene against Sri Lanka he picked up some good wickets and was very impressive.

But a back injury has kept him out for two years and prevented him from building on that strong beginning.

I'm very pleased that he has been able to come back, work very hard and get the opportunity to fulfil the potential he showed.

Shahadat Hossain

More commonly known as Rajib, I feel that this boy is probably the quickest of our fast bowlers.

In the nets he gives the batsmen the hurry-up and he has got all the attributes, he is tall and strong

This is his first tour with the senior team but he will more than likely make his Test debut and I'm confident he will have a long career.

NB: All player profiles were compiled by Dav Whatmore.

Michael Vaughan has mentioned that he and his team epect to beat Bangladesh, but he is aware that complacency could cause them to slip up.

Team News:

England:

Ashley Giles is ruled out so Gareth Batty gets his chance. Jon Lewis may make his debut, instead of Simon Jones. England have no other inury worries.

Bangladesh:

No injury worries.

We will bring the best coverage of the upcoming summer of cricket for England. Starting with the first test tomorrow, there will be regular news updates with reports updated throughout the day, summarised at the end of each day for a full report. Go to no other website apart from here!!!

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