England have been here for nearly two weeks and played a number of one-dayers, but the Sri Lankans were due to reach Dhaka last night.

The trio will face each other three times in the league phase for the December 14 final.

It would be a test for the England U-19s who have lost all five warm-up games against Bangladesh Cricket Board's HP (High Performance) Squad, especially after Bangladesh's three wins in a row in the recently concluded Afro-Asian Under-19 cricket tournament in India.

Bangladesh coach Aaron Winter, however, warned his boys to put the past behind and prepare afresh for the tournament.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim, on the other hand, told that victories against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and South Africa at the end of the Afro-Asian Cup have boosted their confidence.

"We are more confident after winning the last three matches in India and we will go for the title," Mushfiq told reporters yesterday during their training session at the Sher-e-Bangla Mirpur Stadium indoors.

"But our main target is to prepare the team for the next U-19 World Cup. Spinners would be our main weapon," added Mushfiq, who has played one Test.

The wicketkeeper-batsman also thought the HP Squad's all-win record in the warm-up games against England would give them an edge in the opener.

The national selectors, inspired by the HP Squad's success, included five cricketers to the U-19s for this meet.

England face Sri Lanka tomorrow in their second match at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium (FCS), the other venue to be used in the series.

FIXTURES
NOV 30: England v Bangladesh at BKSP
DEC 1: England v Sri Lanka at FCS
DEC 3: Bangladesh v England at FCS
DEC 4: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at BSKP
DEC 6: Sri Lanka v England at FCS
DEC 7: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at BKSP
DEC 9: England v Bangladesh at FCS
DEC 10: England v Sri Lanka at BKSP
DEC 12: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at FCS
DEC 14: Final at BKSP