England's appetising spectacle

By Oliver Brett

Can Habibul Bashar's side give England a meaningful test?

If, as expected, England romp to back-to-back Test victories over Bangladesh, it will continue a run of form which saw them carry all before them in 2004.

Playing the weakest side in Test cricket could, however, be a mixed blessing for Michael Vaughan and his team.

Bangladesh are an hors d'oeuvre for England fans to swallow before tucking into the main course - the Ashes series against Australia.

But could some of England's players be lulled into a false sense of security before taking on the undoubted masters of the modern game?.

Here, BBC Sport assesses some of the pros and cons of playing Bangladesh before Australia.

Sorting out the 'spare batsman' role

UPSIDE: England will aim to play five specialist batsmen against Australia but the selectors can only be certain about the identity of three of them at this stage.

The Bangladesh series may be the best way of identifying who will partner messrs Trescothick, Strauss and Vaughan.

With Mark Butcher unfit, Ian Bell has been given the first crack at securing a spot ahead of Rob Key, slotting in at number four to accommodate Vaughan's move up to three.

Bell will be followed by Graham Thorpe, but there are those who feel Kevin Pietersen may oust the Surrey veteran by the time the Ashes comes around.

DOWNSIDE: If scoring big runs against Bangladesh is in the scope of any half-decent county pro then it is hard to gauge just how good an immaculate Bell century might be.

The last England batsman to be dropped after scoring a century in a Test was Geoff Boycott - so the selectors are creating a rod for their own back if they use Bangladesh as a form guide.

Getting people match-fit for the bigger test ahead

England will not want Andrew Flintoff to over-exert himself

UPSIDE: Rustiness can be slow to get rid of and after only a handful of Championship games there is nothing like having a decent crowd behind you to help get the joints moving smoothly once again.

After their awkward winter in South Africa, it would be heartening for the home fans to see some accurate aggression from Steve Harmison and some rock-solid batting from Vaughan.

DOWNSIDE: The biggest disaster of all would be for Harmison to pull an intercostal muscle or Vaughan to break a finger.

That said, there is a six-week hiatus between the two-Test series for all but the most serious injuries to be remedied.

Getting away from Ashes hype

UPSIDE: Are you as sick as we are about the Ashes mud-slinging that began months ago and shows no signs of dying down?

Mark Butcher told BBC Five Live he'd had enough of reading stories about one former Aussie player after another rubbishing England's chances this summer.

Getting involved in the "bubble" of a couple of back-to-back Test matches allows the England squad to get away from the media hysteria for two precious weeks.

DOWNSIDE: The Australians land in England towards the end of the second Test in Chester-le-Street.

Expect the verbal tirade to resume in earnest.