Missing your stats fix? Then don't worry because Benedict Bermange is back to bring you the numbers that matter on England's tour of Bangladesh - and a few more treats besides...
Let's begin by taking a look at the form of both sides since January 1 2008.
Bangladesh's only two victories were against a weakened West Indies team and England's last three Test defeats have all been by an innings:
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Since their last tour to Bangladesh in October 2003, England has only won one of their 14 Tests in Asia - the win at Mumbai in March 2006.
England has won all four Tests they have played against Bangladesh - their second-best start against any team. They won their first eight Tests against South Africa between 1889 and 1899.
Bangladesh has only avoided defeat once in their seven Tests at The Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium - against India in May 2007. England's previous Test in Chittagong was at the MA Aziz Stadium.
Bangladesh has won three and lost 55 of its 64 Tests since their elevation to full member status in 2000.
This is significantly worse than Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka who had very similar records in their first 64 Tests - winning seven each with far better batting and bowling averages than Bangladesh over similar time.
| Country | Years | Bat ave | Bowl ave | W | D | L |
| Bangladesh | 2000-2010 | 21.19 | 49.72 | 3 | 6 | 55 |
| Zimbabwe | 1992-2002 | 27.58 | 37.65 | 7 | 23 | 34 |
| Sri Lanka | 1982-1995 | 27.20 | 38.60 | 7 | 28 | 29 |
In the recent Test at the venue with India, both teams performed better in their second innings than in their first:
| Start date | Team 1 | Totals 1 | Team 2 | Totals 2 | Result |
| Jan 17 2010 | India | 243 & 413-8d | Bangladesh | 242 & 301 | India won by 113 runs |
Chittagong is the wettest city to host Test cricket in the world with an average annual rainfall of 2911mm. By contrast, the wettest home ground for England is the Cardiff ground, which has 1061mm per year.
Alastair Cook is the fifth-youngest man to captain England in Test cricket. Monty Bowden died of epilepsy, although a fall from his cart, leading him to be trampled under the hooves of his own oxen contributed to his death in Rhodesia at the age of just 26.
| Name | Years | Days | Against | Venue | Year |
| Monty Bowden | 23 | 144 | South Africa | Cape Town | 1889 |
| Ivo Bligh | 23 | 292 | Australia | Melbourne | 1882 |
| Ian Botham | 24 | 194 | West Indies | Nottingham | 1980 |
| Donald Carr | 25 | 40 | India | Madras | 1952 |
| Alastair Cook | 25 | 77 | Bangladesh | Chittagong | 2010 |
Kevin Pietersen resigned as England captain on January 7 2009. At that stage he was fourth in the ICC Test batting rankings (he is now 25th) and sixth in the ICC ODI batting rankings (he is now 29th).
The last time England picked two specialist off-spinners for a Test was in the 1993 Edgbaston Ashes Test when John Emburey and Peter Such played. England lost that match by eight wickets.
Even if England wins the series 2-0 they will only rise one point from 107 to 108 in the ICC Test Championship. No matter what the series result they will remain fourth and Bangladesh ninth.
Catch the first Test between Bangladesh and England from 3am on Friday on Sky Sports HD1 and SS1.
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