After last week’s gloriously close contest, I really wasn’t expecting another. Let alone Bangladesh actually winning it!
So many, many congratulations to Mushfiqur Rahim’s men for breaking their hoodoo and for the first time beating not only England but any top six Test-playing nation since their debut in 2000. I’m being kind to England; the margin was 108 runs, so ultimately not particularly close at all!
It was quite a weird match of ebb and flow, the tidal range of cricketing fortunes abnormally large. Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque pushed the home team’s first innings score to a very respectable 171-1 before Moeen Ali sparked a 9-41 collapse before day one was complete. In reply, England never really got going. Not even 50-merchant Jonny Bairstow or Ben Stokes could work some magic. Indeed, the best partnership by far was the 99 produced for the ninth, featuring Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes.
Facing a modest deficit, Tamim Iqbal set off at his usual rapid rate before falling first with the score on 65. Fortunately most of the top five also contributed to the cause, advancing the score to 200-3. Meanwhile, the catches were going down with alarming regularity. Could they ride their luck and set a target of 300+? Er, no. Stokes and Rashid got stuck in on the third morning and it was game on.
With spin again looking to be the most lethal weapon, the target of 273 would undoubtedly be challenging. In came Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett. With half the allotted five days still to come, it would be about patience, skill and application, not the usual England strategy of bash-it-and-hope.
In the event, new-boy Duckett played his usual attacking game while his captain was more averse to finding the boundary. It seemed to be working as the first century came up without loss in the 24th over. Finally, the teenage twirler Mehedi Hasan broke through, and the English resistance crumbled into dust. Hallowe’en humiliation for the tourists but hyperbolic hysteria for Bangladesh.
Cook blamed the inexperience of England’s spinners. Erm, and just how much experience does he think 18 year-old Hasan possesses? In fact, it was the seam of Woakes and Stokes which shone on the first day, while the decision to recall Steven Finn looked rather odd. He bowled 11 overs in the match, conceding 48 runs and taking no wickets. I understand why Zafar Ansari was granted his debut, but not why he was picked for the tour in the first place. Why don’t the selectors take the players in form, not those who play for the London counties and did quite well a few years ago?!
Moeen Ali is a useful spinner but we must remember he is basically a stylish batsmen who was forced to develop his bowling skills as a means of filling a gaping hole in England’s armoury. I’m sure work is being done to coach young spinners into potential Test stars of the future. The value of slow bowling to Twenty20 has probably attracted boys and girls to try their hands at off-breaks and googlies. Unfortunately, the skills required to keep sloggers down to eight runs an over aren’t necessarily the same as those needed to strangle Test batsmen and take ten wickets. It’s the same gulf as that which exits between batting in Tests and one-dayers.
The reality is that England are not going to produce a world-class spinner in the next year. So what they need to do against the likes of Bangladesh and India is to coach batsmen into playing the likes of Mehedi Hasan and Ravi Ashwin. Cook and Root can’t do it all themselves. Number one test nation India might just be licking their lips….
As for Bangladesh, they deserve their celebrations after beating England fair and square over two matches. I wouldn’t be surprised if, given a deciding fixture, the home nation would have wrapped up a series victory. I just hope they are allowed to play more Test matches against the top sides and show this wasn’t a fluke. Of course, that is precisely why England, Australia and India will NOT give them such an opportunity. That is a shame. I’d welcome many more chances to see Shakib and Mehedi in action against the world’s greatest batsmen.
Showing posts with label Mehedi Hasan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mehedi Hasan. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Monday, 24 October 2016
Bangladesh Go So Close
After a 15-month Test match hiatus, and a two-year wait for any Test victory, Bangladesh must feel desperately unfortunate not to make history at Chittagong this week.
With English media focussing on Alastair Cook’s record-equalling appearance and captaincy total, not to mention Ben Duckett’s debut, a defeat to the home side wasn’t really on the radar. And yet Mushfiqur Rahim’s side were a mere 23 runs away from their first victory against one of the top Test sides in 16 years of trying.
Conditions proved England correct in going for a triple spin attack. I’m not sure whether Gareth Batty fully deserved his recall after an 11-year absence. After all, I and my Somerset colleagues will never forget his disgraceful on-field antics against us a few years back. Nevertheless, the 39 year-old played his part.
I can’t remember a Test where spinners opened the attack from at least one end in every innings. The English trio of Batty, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid collectively picked up twelve wickets, while Bangladesh’s four slowies shared sixteen between them. 18 year-old debutant Mehedi Hasan took the early plaudits with 6-80, yet the Man of the Match award deservedly went to Ben Stokes.
He had the knack of rescuing England whenever the match seemed to ebbing away. When Bangladesh threatened to take a first innings lead, he mopped up with 4-26. When 63-5, he and Bairstow put on 127, the Durham all-rounder top-scoring with 85. Finally, on that final morning flurry, it was inevitably Stokes who captured the last two tailenders in three balls to break Bangla hearts. It was particularly hard on Sabbir Rahman. His careful half-century had given Bangladesh every chance of snatching that elusive success but it wasn’t to be; he was left stranded on 64 not out
For all Bangladesh’s dismal record at the highest level, this was their narrowest defeat yet and the first time they had ever taken all 20 wickets against anyone other than Zimbabwe or a second-string West Indies. It all added up to an excellent Test match. No innings of 300+, yet the game continued into a fifth day (just) and produced a thrilling finale for the few who bothered to attend. There was great spin bowling yet decisive contributions from the quick reverse swing merchants. OK, so the endless referrals were a pain for everyone except Moeen Ali, but in most other aspects it was an entertaining and exciting contest.
Roll on, Dhaka!
With English media focussing on Alastair Cook’s record-equalling appearance and captaincy total, not to mention Ben Duckett’s debut, a defeat to the home side wasn’t really on the radar. And yet Mushfiqur Rahim’s side were a mere 23 runs away from their first victory against one of the top Test sides in 16 years of trying.
Conditions proved England correct in going for a triple spin attack. I’m not sure whether Gareth Batty fully deserved his recall after an 11-year absence. After all, I and my Somerset colleagues will never forget his disgraceful on-field antics against us a few years back. Nevertheless, the 39 year-old played his part.
I can’t remember a Test where spinners opened the attack from at least one end in every innings. The English trio of Batty, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid collectively picked up twelve wickets, while Bangladesh’s four slowies shared sixteen between them. 18 year-old debutant Mehedi Hasan took the early plaudits with 6-80, yet the Man of the Match award deservedly went to Ben Stokes.
He had the knack of rescuing England whenever the match seemed to ebbing away. When Bangladesh threatened to take a first innings lead, he mopped up with 4-26. When 63-5, he and Bairstow put on 127, the Durham all-rounder top-scoring with 85. Finally, on that final morning flurry, it was inevitably Stokes who captured the last two tailenders in three balls to break Bangla hearts. It was particularly hard on Sabbir Rahman. His careful half-century had given Bangladesh every chance of snatching that elusive success but it wasn’t to be; he was left stranded on 64 not out
For all Bangladesh’s dismal record at the highest level, this was their narrowest defeat yet and the first time they had ever taken all 20 wickets against anyone other than Zimbabwe or a second-string West Indies. It all added up to an excellent Test match. No innings of 300+, yet the game continued into a fifth day (just) and produced a thrilling finale for the few who bothered to attend. There was great spin bowling yet decisive contributions from the quick reverse swing merchants. OK, so the endless referrals were a pain for everyone except Moeen Ali, but in most other aspects it was an entertaining and exciting contest.
Roll on, Dhaka!
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