The England cricket team toured Bangladesh in October and November 2016 to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs), two Test matches and three tour matches. A terrorist attack in Dhaka four months before the tour started raised concerns about team safety. This led to two members of the England team, regular one-day captain Eoin Morgan and opener Alex Hales, withdrawing from selection.
England won the ODI series 2–1. The Test series finished 1–1, with Bangladesh recording their first ever Test win against England, by 108 runs, in the second Test. The Bangladesh captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, said that "it's a great moment for Bangladesh cricket". In response to the defeat England captain Alastair Cook said "it's not easy for me to say, but it's a good win for Bangladesh cricket".
Security concerns Following a terrorist attack in Dhaka in July 2016, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it would follow advice from the Bangladesh government on the forthcoming tour. In response the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Nazmul Hassan, said that "England are coming after three months, by which time the situation in Bangladesh will get better". England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said there were "big concerns" regarding the security of the England team following the attack. The BCB later rejected any plans to the matches at a neutral venue, should England pull out of the tour to Bangladesh. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said he was "hopeful" that the tour would go ahead. Zimbabwean Richard Halsall, Bangladesh's fielding coach, said that he feels safe working in Bangladesh and is hopeful of England's arrival.
In August the ECB sent a delegation to do a security inspection of venues in Mirpur, Chittagong and Fatullah. Following the inspection, the ECB confirmed that the tour would go ahead as planned. Following the confirmation that the tour would go ahead, England's director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, said that it is 100% safe to tour Bangladesh. Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, said that the BCB would provide security for player's family members, journalists and travelling England fans.
Some England players talked about safety evaluations before confirming their participation but Moeen Ali was the first England player to confirm he would go to Bangladesh, saying "If selected, I'll definitely go". Andrew Strauss gave a deadline of 10 September 2016 for players to confirm their commitment to the tour and on 11 September the ECB announced that Alex Hales and Morgan both declined to tour. The England supporters' group, the Barmy Army, said there was "too much risk" for fans to travel to Bangladesh and later confirmed they would not be following the tour.
Jos Buttler was appointed captain of the ODI side in Morgan's absence. Buttler said that Morgan remains "very much the captain" and his choice not to tour Bangladesh "won't divide the dressing room". Morgan returned to his role of ODI captain when England tour India in November. Ahead of the ODI series, the Bangladesh Army ran a security drill to evacuate players.
Squads TestsODIs Mushfiqur Rahim (c, wk) Tamim Iqbal (vc) Mominul Haque Mehidy Hasan Nurul Hasan Shakib Al Hasan Shuvagata Hom Mosaddek Hossain Shafiul Islam Taijul Islam Imrul Kayes Mahmudullah Kamrul Islam Rabbi Sabbir Rahman Subashis Roy Soumya Sarkar Alastair Cook (c) Joe Root (vc) Moeen Ali James Anderson Zafar Ansari Jonny Bairstow (wk) Jake Ball Gary Ballance Gareth Batty Stuart Broad Jos Buttler (wk) Ben Duckett Steven Finn Haseeb Hameed Adil Rashid Ben Stokes Chris Woakes Mark Wood Mashrafe Mortaza (c) Taskin Ahmed Shakib Al Hasan Al-Amin Hossain Mosaddek Hossain Mosharraf Hossain Nasir Hossain Tamim Iqbal Shafiul Islam Taijul Islam Imrul Kayes Mahmudullah Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) Sabbir Rahman Soumya Sarkar Jos Buttler (c, wk) Ben Stokes (vc) Moeen Ali Jonny Bairstow (wk) Jake Ball Sam Billings (wk) Liam Dawson Ben Duckett Steven Finn Liam Plunkett Adil Rashid Jason Roy James Vince David Willey Chris Woakes Mark Wood James Anderson and Mark Wood withdrew from the England squads before the tour started due to injury. Jake Ball was added to the Test squad and Steven Finn to the ODI squad to replace them. Taijul Islam was added to Bangladesh's squad for the third ODI as a replacement for Mosharraf Hossain. Subashis Roy and Mosaddek Hossain were added to Bangladesh's squad for the second Test. Hossain was a backup to Sabbir Rahman while Shafiul Islam was rested. However, a few days later the Bangladesh team announced that Sabbir Rahman would be fit for the second Test.
Tour matches
One-day:Bangladesh Cricket Board Select XI vs England XI
Two-day:Bangladesh Cricket Board XI vs England XI
Two-day:Bangladesh Cricket Board XI vs England XI
ODI series
1st ODI
2nd ODI
3rd ODI
Test series
1st Test
2nd Test
References
External links Series home at ESPN Cricinfo