Having lost out on a closely contested ODI series against England, Bangladesh will look to avenge their defeat when both teams clash in first Test of the two match series on Thursday at Chittagong.

The fact that the Bangladesh selectors have included four uncapped players in their Test squad for the England series has received plenty of attention the past week.

With Bangladesh's season starting with the Afghanistan and England series, there was much hand-wringing over the long gaps between ODI and Test cricket.

If the Bangladesh squad for the first Test is anything to go by, there will not be much joy for the faster men when England and the home team square off at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong (ZACS) on Thursday.

The dearth of domestic longer-version cricket and Test matches is taking its toll on the national cricketers of Bangladesh as Tigers allrounder Shakib Al Hasan can hardly recall the last time he represented his country in the longer version of the game.

England and Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel feels that the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh and India will be exciting with the amount of talent on display.

Factbox on the Test series between England and Bangladesh starting at Chittagong on Thursday

England will use the Test series in Bangladesh to solve selection issues and prepare for the potentially tougher series they face over the coming months.

Being a wicketkeeper is a pretty hard ask in cricket. It is a thankless job, and very often a keeper only gets noticed when he makes a mistake like dropping a crucial catch or missing a stumping chance.

Miracles can happen. But the harsh reality is real and it's totally and completely under someone's control. Bangladesh head coach

England captain Alastair Cook will link with up with the England squad in Bangladesh on Monday after attending the birth of his second child.

Steven Finn, the England pacer, takes stock of the trying conditions in Bangladesh, after sweating it out and bowling 16 overs across the two tour games against the hosts in Chittagong.

England’s final dress rehearsal for the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday ended with a draw in the second two-day tour match against BCB XI as Tanveer Haider picked up four wickets.

Wily Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah wishes a Test face off with magician Indian offie Ravichandaran Ashwin in a battle of two fast wicket-taking spinners.

Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra will commemorate the birthday of Sheikh Russel, youngest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by launching a school table tennis tournament, said club officials yesterday.

Two days before the start of the ODI series against England, Abdul Mazid, as part of the Dhaka Division team, had just finished a National Cricket League four-dayer against Khulna Division. He had scored 96 in his only first-class outing in this rain-marred season.

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha sought to clear the air yesterday about the discussion surrounding fast bowler Taskin Ahmed's Test prospects by saying that it was he who insisted upon Taskin's inclusion in the two-day warm-up between BCB XI and England XI.

Newcomers Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Nurul Hasan and Kamrul Islam Rabbi and all-rounder Sabbir Rahman earn their places in the 14-man squad for the first Test match against England at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong due to begin on October 20, Thursday.

Heightened security measures around high-profile sporting events could become the norm, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board's respected security advisor Reg Dickason.

Abdul Mazid retires hurt just eight runs short of his 100 in the warm-up match between England XI and BCB Xahead of Thursday's first Test between England and Bangladesh.