A trough in the rollercoaster ride

England's summer is shaping up to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride, if their phenomenal onslaught in Monday night's Twenty20 match is anything to go by. Unfortunately, as with all such fairground attractions, the peaks must be countered by the troughs, and so it will prove tomorrow, when Bangladesh shuffle back onto centre stage for the opening encounter of the NatWest Series.

It is all incredibly unfair on the Bangladeshis. They should not even be here anymore. From the moment Australia transferred their words into deeds and Brett Lee banged in his first bouncer to Marcus Trescothick, the point of the Bangladeshi presence was utterly undermined. By all means offer them three token one-day games ahead of the Aussie arrival, but to mix their matches in with the most eagerly awaited Ashes tussle in a generation is like spiking your vintage Louis Roederer with Babycham.

Bangladesh do at least have some form to fall back on, after a hard-earned victory against Worcestershire on Sunday, in which Mohammad Ashraful tamed one raging beast, Shoaib Akhtar, who was making his county debut. But try stopping England in their tracks now. A mist as crimson as Darren Gough's mood has descended since Monday evening. As Somerset have demonstrated so emphatically down at Taunton, the Australians bring out the beast in everyone.

Even so, Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh's coach, was refusing to let the circumstances of this fixture get him down, and predicted a better showing in the one-dayers than was demonstrated during the Tests. "We have a bit of confidence in what we can do," he told reporters. "The shorter version of the game swings around a little bit, it is a lot quicker and you can have a greater influence over a shorter time. One of our objectives is to get a game to swing our way."

That might be easier said than done. In 106 matches, Bangladesh have achieved just two victories against sides other than Zimbabwe and the Associate nations, and never before have they wandered into the midst of a gunfight of this intensity. England are not going to let their intensity slip for anyone so discretion, one fears, would be the better part of valour - if only the Bangladeshis had that option.

At least they are no longer in possession of the most humiliating collapse of the summer. Australia, with their seven for eight in 20 balls at The Rose Bowl, have claimed that title hands down, and you can bet your life that the moment Bangladesh surpass Australia's eventual total of 79, the arcing roof of the new OCS Stand, which will be packed out for the first time this summer, will be blown clean off.

For Marcus Trescothick, the day will hold some extra significance, as he becomes the tenth England player to reach 100 one-day caps. But he admitted that the match was not the ideal follow-up to the events of Monday night. "That's the test of our team," he conceded. "It's up to us to remain disciplined and focused on the job. The main focus is the end of this NatWest series, making sure we're in the final and making sure we're doing well.

"Everybody's been a little bit in awe of the Australian team," he added, "but over the last 18 months we've gained the confidence to stand up and compete with the best team in the world. The most important thing is not that we've beaten them in two one-day games - how we've done over the last 18 months is the most important thing for us."

All in all, it doesn't augur well for the Bangladeshis. But given the mood in the Australian camp this evening, one fears that the worst could yet be to come on the most arduous tour of their lives.