Injury-plagued England Eye Quarterfinals Against Bangladesh

Chittagong: England hope to recover from twin injury blows and virtually ensure their World Cup quarterfinal place with a victory over stuttering Bangladesh on Friday.

England were floored by the departure of star batsman Kevin Pietersen and fast bowler Stuart Broad on successive days due to injuries as they prepared for the day-night game in Chittagong.

Pietersen flew home on Monday for hernia surgery, while Broad was ruled out for the rest of the tournament on Tuesday due to a side strain suffered during the six-run win over South Africa.

Fluent left-hander Eoin Morgan has arrived in the port city to replace Pietersen with coach Andy Flower expecting him to be match-ready by Friday.

Paceman Chris Tremlett, who is travelling with the squad as a bowling reserve, is likely to be named as Broad's replacement and should be available to play against Bangladesh.

England, with five points from four Group B matches, have two league matches to play - against Bangladesh and the West Indies - but a win on Friday should be enough to advance to the knock-out rounds.

The hosts, facing an early exit from the tournament after just one win in three games, will look to resurrect their campaign in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,000 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.

Bangladesh must not only beat England, but also defeat the Netherlands and South Africa to cement a place in the quarterfinals.

Two more wins could also see them through, provided other results go in their favour.

Andrew Strauss' men will be buoyed by their impressive run against Bangladesh, having lost just one of their 14 one-day internationals so far.

Significantly, England have also won all their six contests on Bangladeshi soil, the last three in March, 2010.

England must find a new opening partner for Strauss in Pietersen's absence, with Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara and wicket-keeper Matt Prior the likely candidates.

The departing Broad welcomed Morgan back to the squad, saying he expected him to fire immediately.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh were determined to overcome the embarrassment of being shot out for their lowest one-day total of 58 in the previous match against the West Indies in Dhaka.

Bangladesh have been let down by their inconsistent batsmen, who began the tournament well by making 283-9 while chasing India's mammoth 370-4.

The Tigers were shot out for 205 by Ireland, fought back to restrict the non-Test nation for 178, before hitting a new low against the West Indies.

Opener Tamim Iqbal and skipper Shakib Al Hasan are the only batsmen to score half-centuries in the tournament, both against India. The next best is Raqibul Hasan's 38 against Ireland.

Spin spearhead Abdur Razzak has managed just one wicket in three games at a cost of 112 runs. Shakib has three wickets with his left-arm spin and off-break bowler Naeem Islam two.

Tamim, who hails from Chittagong, said the team had moved on from the West Indies game.

Teams from

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Naeem Islam, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wk), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Michael Yardy, Ajmal Shahzad, James Tredwell, Luke Wright.

Pitch and conditions
A typically flat Bangladeshi wicket that will slow down as the match progresses to help the spin bowlers. The evening sea breeze may assist the seamers in the second session.

Stats and trivia

• England and Bangladesh have only faced each other once in previous World Cups - at Bridgetown in 2007, when England ground to an unconvincing four-wicket win.
• Tamim Iqbal has scored 730 runs at 48.66 in his 11 matches against England, including a run of six half-centuries in seven Test innings. His highest score against England, 125, came in his first match against them, the first ODI in Dhaka in February 2010.
• Andrew Strauss has never played an ODI in Bangladesh, having been rested for last year's tour. He scored 154 in his last match against them, at Edgbaston in July 2010.

Head to head

• Total played: 14
• Bangladesh won: 1
• England won: 13
• No result: 0
• First meeting: Oct 5, 2000, Nairobi - England won by 8 wickets
• Last meeting: July 12, 2010, Birmingham - England won by 144 runs.

Match facts
Friday March 11, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 14:30 local (08:30 GMT