After a positive result in the one-day series England were looking to continue their good form into the longer format marking the beginning of their preparations for the eagerly anticipated Ashes series this winter. With Andrew Strauss still on a much-deserved break from test cricket Alastair Cook was given his first chance to captain his country in the five-day game. And it was changes all-round as England brought in two fresh faces for their opening match in Chittagong, Michael Carberry would get a long-awaited chance filling in for Strauss at the top of the order whilst young Stephen Finn, a 6ft 7 giant from Middlesex would try to prove himself in less-than-familiar conditions.
Day One
Whilst Cook's chance to captain England would be inevitably short-lived he did his chances of one day leading his country no harm on the first days play, as himself and Kevin Pietersen piled on the runs in the sub-continental heat. Finishing on an unbeaten 158 Cook provided the backbone for his side as they closed on a 374 for 3. Earlier Pietersen had amassed a well crafted 99 only to be undone by his nemesis, the left-arm spinner, but alongside Cook they marched England into dominant position.
Despite Cook becoming the fifth England batsman to score a century in his first match in charge, it was Shakib Al-Hasan, the Bangladesh captain that caused the major talking point. On a pitch that looked certain to deteriorate as the game progressed Shakib unfathomably opted to field giving the English batsman the chance to post a handsome first innings total. The obvious lack of confidence showed by Shakib did little to inspire his bowlers as they toiled throughout most of the day and England profited from some decidedly ordinary test match bowling. So England stood pretty after day one and even at this early stage it seemed that Bangladesh would be chasing the game from here on in.
Alastair Cook enjoys a dream-start to his first stint as
captain with a well-crafted century on Day One
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
Day Two
Moments of inspiration from the hosts on day two were overshadowed by another authoritative display by England. Cook was unable to reach his double-hundred (a statistic that continues to haunt England's batsmen) pulling a ball straight back to the bowler adding only 15 to his overnight score. But Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell ensured that the tourists posted a chunky 599 for 6 sharing a stand of 184 in 35 overs, Collingwood comfortably passing his hundred whilst Bell dug in for a well played 84.
Yet as bad as Bangladesh may be in the field they are a much improved side clasping the willow, batting very deep and boasting the audacious talent of Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order. And Tamim did not disappoint finishing the day on 81 not out, in which he punished anything a fraction short or wide and just about anything else that caught his eye. Unfortunately though support was hard to come by as Staurt Broad and Graeme Swann shared five wickets to restrict the Tigers to 154 for 5 at stumps, Mahmudullah, who with Tamim had threatened a sizeable partnership, unable to hold on until the close of play and was caught at slip trying to sweep Swann.
Paul Collingwood adds to Bangladesh's misery as he brings up his 10th Test hundred
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
The enterprise showed by Tamim was an example to his fellow team mates but it seemed the counter attack remained a one man show as Bangladesh's top order refused to grind out an innings and give the opener any support. It was a similar scenario in the field, after a hammering on the first day spirits stayed nailed to the floor with shoddy work both in the outfield and behind the stumps. A team who in the recent one-day series had often found themselves on the cusp of an upset now appeared devoid of any hunger for victory and as the sun set in Chittagong it seemed their hopes of a win had all but vanished.
Day Three
England continued on their route to victory, but it was not all plain sailing as Bangladesh summoned some dogged resistance to persuade Cook not to enforce the follow on thanks to a superb 79 from Mushfiqur Rahim and a record eight-wicket stand of 113 with Naeem Islam. The dangerous Tamim Iqbal was unable to provide more entertainment for the home fans as Tim Bresnan produced a jaffa to remove the opener in the third over of the day, but as the heat intensified and the Bangladeshi batsman began to show some fight the follow on became less and less likely.
Mushfiqur Rahim frustrated the England with a gritty 79
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
Naeem and Rahim frustrated the English attack for all of 39 overs with a mixture of assured clean-hitting and regimented defence, a sign of the raw potential of these yet-to-be-refined cricketers. The hole that Bangladesh had already dug for themselves meant however that these small and crucially infrequent victories lacked significance in the wider context of the match, as even a stuttering start to England's second innings meant that the tourists led by a titanic 434 at the end of day three, with five wickets remaining.
England having dismissed Bangladesh for 296 and not enforced the follow on looked to score runs quickly and in turn sacrificed wickets. Cook top-edging to deep square-leg, Carberry trapped in front by Razzak ending a poor debut for the Hampshire stroke-maker, and the loss of Pietersen and Collingwood squandered any momentum England may have began to create. Bangladesh continued to piss into the wind however and at the end of day three were still smelling not too sweet!
Day Four
Come day four and the overriding stench that lingered amongst the Bangladeshi players ever since the disastrous toss three days before was beginning to fade, and Siddique and Rahim produced a refreshing partnership late in the day to halt England's progress in the final session. Having had the hosts 110 for 5 before tea. Siddique spent four-and-a-half hours at the crease passing his fifty in that time to remain unbeaten on 68 overnight, whilst Rahim built on his 79 from the first innings and produced a mature knock albeit on a very flat deck, giving himself the opportunity to notch up a half-century on day five.
Earlier England had resumed on 154 for 5, both Matt Prior and Ian Bell still yet to score, and unsurprisingly it was Prior who was first to chance his arm dancing down the wicket to the captain Shakib Al-Hasan unable lure the ball to the middle of his bat and Shahadat Hossain steadied himself to take a regulation catch at mid on. Swann regained England's impetuous and his lively 32 from 25 balls marked the end of England's batting as Cook declared on 209 for 7, leaving Bangladesh 513 runs to win. With time possibly the more pressing issue Cook's declaration was certainly Strauss-esque in its conservatism, but with a rested bowling quartet ready to pounce on the 'minnows' of test cricket the safety of his captaincy was unlikely to come under great scrutiny.
England failed to find a cutting edge as Bangladesh
forced the tourists into the final day in Chittagong
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
Day Five
Graeme Swann was the talk of the town on day five as he recorded his first 10-wicket haul to send England to victory in the first test against Bangladesh, but not before Shakib's men showed tremendous resistance to fend off the English bowlers in front of their home fans at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Siddique and Rahim carried on where they had left off and managed to ensure a wicketless morning session, Siddique going on to make a marathon ton, eventually snuffed out by Swann for 106 having faced a titanic 292 balls.
The magnitude of Siddique's knock must not be underestimated however, and his century marked the fourth Bangladesh batsman to record a maiden century this year. He negotiated Finn and Broad well surviving a close LBW shout from the former, and after looking assured against Swann's flight and guile for so long succumbed moments after his milestone giving England the crucial breakthrough. Swann's unsavoury send-off was not what Siddique deserved and the Nottinghamshire spinner later apologised for his reaction.
Rahim's knock was equally as impressive and capped a magnificent match for the 21 year-old (with the bat at least!) but a rush of blood to the head saw him york himself charging a loopy delivery from Swann. Once the two danger men had been removed Bangladesh's lower order was exposed and Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad set aboutpicking up some cheap wickets as the hosts looked to take on the pacemen. And as the 'panther-like' Carberry gobbled up a tame chip from Naeem in the 115th over Swann had 10 and England had finally won!
Graeme Swann claims another victim on his way to a match-winning 10-wicket haul
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
Graeme Swann rightfully took the man-of-the-match award for a match-winning effort with the ball on a surface rarely gave assistance to the bowlers, and honourable mentions must go to Cook and Collingwood who cashed in on some suspect Bangladeshi bowling on the first two days and produced fine hundreds to put England in charge from the very early on. Possibly the most intriguing element to the test match came in the resistance shown by the hosts. After almost two days in the heat watching England amass 599 declared there heads were well and truly buried in the sand but a more than useful batting line up produced some outstanding efforts, forcing England to bat again and wait until the final day to seal victory. Rahim and Siddique gave little away and provided a number of mini-victories for Bangladesh in the match but were not always backed up by their team mates and often lacked the killer instinct inherent in the world's top teams. But the future looks bright and if such mini-victories can become more frequent especially in the bowling department then the only way is up for Shakib's men.
