Mourning Broad expected to play in Bangladesh opener
Published:Stuart Broad is expected to be named in the England team for Thursday’s NatWest Series opener against Bangladesh despite the death of his stepmother.
The match starts at 2pm and the seam bowler is 9/4 favourite to take the most wickets in the one-day series with pace man Jimmy Anderson just behind at 5/2.
Broad’s father, former England batsman and current International Cricket Council match referee Chris, announced on Wednesday that his wife Miche had lost her battle with motor neurone disease.
He had recently been granted leave from his ICC role while caring for her, although Stuart and sister Gemma – an analyst with the national side – have continued with their England duties.
There has been no official word from the England and Wales Cricket Board, however Broad is thought to be available for action on Thursday and should line up against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge in the first of three one-day internationals.
England are 1/8 to win the match, while a more attractive bet would be on the first Bangladesh wicket falling with under 23.5 runs on the board. It’s 5/6.
In a statement released by Chris Broad via the ICC, he said his wife was adamant the family should uphold their cricketing commitments.
Should Broad not be named in the starting XI, back-up seamer Ajmal Shahzad could be in line for a recall. Shahzad is 8/1 to finish the series’ top wicket taker.
Teams:
England (from): A Strauss (capt), J Anderson, I Bell, T Bresnan; S Broad; P Collingwood; C Kieswetter (wkt), E Morgan, A Shahzad, J Tredwell, J Trott, L Wright, M Yardy.
Bangladesh (from): M Mortaza (capt), S Al-Hasan (vc), A Razzak, F Hossain, I Kayes, J Islam, J Siddique, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), N Hossain, R Hasan, R Hossain, S Islam, S Rasel, T Iqbal.
Umpires: N Llong , A Rauf (Pak)
Third Umpire: R Illingworth
Match referee: J Srinath (Ind)
How will the opening match in the three-game series go? Big-hitting Eoin Morgan is 5/2 to score at least 50. See the full England v Bangladesh match betting market.
