Hopeless England takes on resurgent Bangladesh

Bridgetown, Barbados, Apr 10 (UNI) Facing an uphill task to book a semi-final berth, an out of sorts England team faces a do-or-die situation when they take on a resurgent Bangladesh side tomorrow.

The route to the semi-finals stage seems all the more difficult for under fire England captain Michael Vaughan as even the weakest team (assuming Bangladesh) out of their three remaining Super Eight encounters has shown they are capable of beating the best in the business (read South Africa).

England must raise their game significantly to harbour any hopes of making it to the last four.

Fresh from their upset win over top-ranked team South Africa, Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is talking big and dreaming about a semi-final berth.

'' We now have a bright chance to play the semi-final if we can beat England. The English team has some good players but they are not playing well. So it will not be impossible to beat them,'' he told a website.

Bashar has already warned that they are not in the Super Eights just to make up the numbers and the young side are desperate to repeat that feat for the third time in the World Cup when they lock horns against England.

That is certainly not good news for Michael Vaughan's men as their form and body language are a far cry for a side that is looking to book a semi-finals berth.

At least three big cruise liners have docked in the Bridgetown port today and majority of them to disembark were British citizens who have come to support their favourite team.

Even if they beat Bangladesh, they will have to play out of their skin to get past South Africa and West Indies and only very huge wins against them will save the huge sums the Barmy's Army had spent in those cruises.

But even the most passionate of Barmy Army supporters will be wary of Giant Killer Bangladesh, which had already turned the calculations upside down by defeating India and then South Africa.

Even coach Duncan Fletcher admits that if his team loses early wickets then it will come under immense pressure but still maintained that England has enough fire power to deny Bangladesh another upset victory, come what may.

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