Bangladesh’s Test against England at Lord’s next May was already fixed. On the same tour Bangladesh will also play a Test against Ireland, a senior official of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.
The Ireland Test will be played at Chelmsford, before Bangladesh face England at the historic Lord’s. Bangladesh will also play a warm-up match before the two Tests, which may run for three or four days.
The Chelmsford ground belongs to the county side Essex. Ireland hosted a three-match one-day series against Bangladesh there in 2023. Six one-day internationals have been played at the ground so far, but no Test. The ground holds memories for Bangladesh: the team played its first World Cup match there, against New Zealand at the 1999 World Cup.
Bangladesh have played three Tests against Ireland so far, two in Mirpur and one in Sylhet.
The ICC’s Future Tours Programme had no England tour planned for Bangladesh. But England offered to play a Test against Bangladesh as part of its preparation for next year’s home Ashes, and the BCB took the chance.
From the start the BCB tried to add matches to the England tour. After the invitation to Lord’s it opened talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), aiming to add limited-overs games. With next year’s World Cup in mind, Bangladesh proposed two or three one-day internationals. Those talks did not succeed; the ECB promised one-day matches in future. The BCB then approached Cricket Ireland, and those talks bore fruit.
Bangladesh have played Tests in England twice, first in 2005 and then in 2010. On the 2010 tour Tamim Iqbal, now the BCB president, made headlines with two fine centuries.
Before Bangladesh go to England, they will host the English side. England will tour Bangladesh in February and play two Tests.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report