Bangladesh is counting on the hot and stifling conditions being their friend and not England's when the first cricket test starts on Thursday.
High humidity along with temperatures of up to 34 degrees (90 F) are forecast for Chittagong for the next five days, with little relief from clouds. The one-day international series started in mid-afternoons with some relief in the evenings, but the tests get going from 10 am, and the Bangladeshis hope the weather makes things easier for them in their first series in 15 months.
"Weather will have a big effect," Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim says. "Maintaining concentration and consistency over five days will be challenging.
"It will be more difficult for them than us, as they are not habituated to this weather. Although they have been here for around 15-20 days, we'll try to maximize our advantage to the full, be it from the wicket or the weather conditions."
The conditions worried England captain Alastair Cook. "England as a cricketing nation plays more test cricket than Bangladesh, which helps us, but we don't play a huge amount in these conditions," Cook says.
"Home advantage and home conditions play a big part. We have to learn fast — three days of (warmup) cricket isn't a huge amount of time for a lot of the guys to be in, and I haven't seen any of it. We have to think on our feet and be ready."
Cook missed both warmup matches — three days' worth — for the birth of his second child. He came to Bangladesh to acclimatize with the ODI squad, returned home to see his new baby girl, and returned on Monday. He will eclipse Alec Stewart and become England's most capped player when he appears in his 134th test on Thursday since his debut in 2006.
Jimmy blow for Eng
England's record-breaking bowler Jimmy Anderson, who has already been ruled out of the current tour of Bangladesh, will miss next month's first cricket Test against India, captain Alastair Cook said on Wednesday. "I don't think he'll be there for the start. He might be ready to do some training, but he won't be ready for the first Test match in India," Cook said.
"I don't know what's happening — they will be making some decisions over the next seven days or so. I spoke to him last night and he is training well and in good shape physically."