England on the slide

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Clean bowling the openers not good enough to get Anderson in the match report.

They inside-edged from a foot outside offstump onto the pad and the ball trickled back onto the stumps with one bail falling off. It was shocking that both fell in the same way.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

2nd ODI - England vs Sri Lanka

Pacy Alan Duvall comes in for Brad Fullerton.

England
Andrew Strauss (c)
Terry Ashton
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
Christian Heath
Stanley Blakemore
Larry Gillett (wk)
Bill Lewis
Alan Duvall
James Swanton
James Anderson

12th Man: Brad Fullerton

Realizing the error of their ways, the Sri Lanka selectors recalled Dananjaya and Dilshan to the ODI team.

Sri Lanka
S Aroos
S Wijetinge
I Anton
D Jayawardene (c)
J Zanhar
K Sangakkara (wk)
A Perris
T Samaraweera
G Dilshan
G Dananjaya
J Azeez

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

2nd ODI - 1st innings - England v Sri Lanka

England continued their dramatic return to form with another confident batting performance against their Sri Lankan counterparts, finally tackling the spin duo of Dilshan and Dananjaya in an aggressive and effective manner. Andrew Strauss rose from the ashes of a miserable tour to score a positive 61 at the top of the order, and he and Terry Ashton put on 127 for the first wicket.

Ashton showed why he was picked for England despite a sub-30 List-A average, as he was explosive in scoring 63 from 48 balls. And though Dilshan dismissed both openers in the space of 4 balls, the damage was done. When Bell (9) failed to impact as he has throughout the tour, Sri Lanka sensed an opportunity to claw back into the game.

Revitalized and energized, Kevin Pietersen and Christian Heath stole those chances away from the home side. The two piled on the second major stand of the innings - 89 - and each notched a half-century in due time. Heath went on to record his 43rd not out in his 99th ODI innings, lifting his average to a stunning 71.07 with an innings of 69 unbeaten.

England closed on 291-7 and Dilshan and Dananjaya shared 6 wickets, but surrendered 112 runs in 20 overs between them.

England
A Strauss - c&b Dilshan - 61 [83]
T Ashton - c&b Dilshan - 63 [48]
I Bell - c Zanhar b Samaraweera - 9 [12]
K Pietersen - b Dananjaya - 52 [71]
C Heath - not out - 69 [64]
S Blakemore - lbw b Dananjaya - 16 (16)
L Gillett - b Dilshan - 13 [8]
B Lewis - lbw b Dilshan - 0 [1]
A Duvall - not out - 1 [2]
Extras - 7
Total: 291-7 (50 overs)

J Azeez 10-0-71-0
J Zanhar 10-1-63-0
G Dilshan 10-0-65-4
T Samaraweera 10-1-43-1
G Dananjaya 10-0-47-2

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

2-0 for England in easy win

2nd ODI - 2nd innings - England v Sri Lanka

For all the promise of Mahela Jayawardene's quickfire 41, Sri Lanka never looked like chasing down England's 292, and instead collapsed to 174 all out and defeat by 118 runs. Stan Blakemore took 3 wickets despite never truly looking settled, whilst Duvall's return to the side was a successful one. The fast bowler operated with great pace and aggression and took 3 wickets in his 6 overs.

Once again James Anderson did the job early on. The veteran bowled accurately and ensured the Sri Lankans struggled to get momentum against the new ball. By the time Kevin Pietersen claimed the wicket of Zanhar, England stood firmly on top.

James Swanton hammered the final nail into the coffin, spectacularly knocking back Dananjaya's middle stump for a spunky 14.

England 292-7 (50 overs)
C Heath 69* [64]
T Ashton 63 [48]
A Strauss 61 [83]
K Pietersen 52 [71]
G Dilshan 4-65
G Dananjaya 2-47

Sri Lanka
S Aroos - c Ashton b Blakemore - 40 [55]
S Wijetinge - lbw b Lewis - 6 [20]
I Anton - lbw b Duvall - 16 [19]
D Jayawardene - c Pietersen b Blakemore - 41 [29]
J Zanhar - c Gillett b Pietersen - 3 [6]
K Sangakkara - c Ashton b Blakemore - 19 [19]
A Perris - c Strauss b Duvall - 14 [19]
T Samaraweera - run out - 12 [10]
J Azeez - lbw b Duvall - 4 [6]
G Dananjaya - b Swanton - 14 [11]
G Dilshan - not out - 1 [2]
Extras - 4
Total: 174 all out (32.1 overs)

J Anderson 5-1-17-0
B Lewis 7-0-32-1
A Duvall 6-1-31-3
J Swanton 3.1-0-22-1
S Blakemore 7-0-42-3
K Pietersen 4-0-29-1

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

3rd ODI - England vs Sri Lanka

England
Andrew Strauss (c)
Terry Ashton
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
Christian Heath
Stanley Blakemore
Larry Gillett (wk)
Bill Lewis
Alan Duvall
James Swanton
James Anderson

12th Man: Brad Fullerton

The bemusing Sri Lankan selection policy continues, as they sacked the spin bowling duo of Danajaya and Dilshan and bolstered the pace attack with the inclusion of Arangalla, Fernando and Weeraratne.

Sri Lanka
S Aroos
S Wijetinge
I Anton
D Jayawardene (c)
J Zanhar
K Sangakkara (wk)
A Perris
K Fernando
S Arangalla
J Azeez
K Weeraratne

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Stunning Heath leads England revival

3rd ODI - 1st innings - England v Sri Lanka

Early blows by the Sri Lankan seamers left England struggling at 105-5 before the brilliance of Christian Heath and Larry Gillett revived the innings with a partnership of 152 for the 6th wicket. The ball zipped around in the initial stages of the match and Sri Lanka capitalized on winning the toss and bowled with sufficient accuracy to dismantle the England top order.

Kevin Pietersen threatened with an innings of 33, but dragged on Weeraratne to end a partnership of 47 with Heath. Blakemore never looked settled for his 6 and perished 29 runs later. Heath notched his fourth one-day international hundred and finished the innings on 118 not out, whilst Gillett scored his second international half-century, an innings of 60.

England
A Strauss - b Arangalla - 9 [13]
T Ashton - lbw b Arangalla - 9 [9]
I Bell - c Zanhar b Fernando - 8 [16]
K Pietersen - b Weeraratne - 33 [29]
C Heath - not out - 118 [125]
S Blakemore - lbw b Azeez - 6 [18]
L Gillett - c Sangakkara b Zanhar - 60 [97]
B Lewis - not out - 1 [1]
Extras - 14
Total: 258-6 (50 overs)

K Fernando 10-0-55-1
S Arangalla 10-0-33-2
J Azeez 10-0-54-1
K Weeraratne 10-2-52-1
J Zanhar 10-0-58-1

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Fernando steals consolation win

3rd ODI - 2nd innings - England v Sri Lanka

Kandana Fernando hit three boundaries off the final over of the innings, bowled by James Swanton, and Sri Lanka beat England by 3 wickets to end the ODI series 2-1 in defeat. Fernando entered the last over with his team needing 9 runs to win. A thick edge to the third man fence off the first ball was followed by a slash over point a ball later. Two balls later, the allrounder clipped a yorker length ball fine, and it flew to the vacant fine leg rope.

Openers Aroos and Wijetinge earlier set the pace for the run chase with a partnership of 101 runs. England then clawed their way back into the game largely behind the bowling of Swanton. An aggressive cameo by Kumar Sangakkara set the pace back in line for Sri Lanka, but once again it was Swanton who revived England. The tourists were back on top.

But when it came to the crunch of the final overs, Duvall was the first to fall apart, as he surrendered 20 from his 7th and final over of the innings. Anderson bowled the 49th over superbly and gave up only 2 runs. The equation was then raised from from 11 needed from 12 balls to 9 from the final 6. Unfortunately for England, Swanton too cracked under the immense pressure of the task at hand.

England 258-6 (50 overs)
C Heath 118* [125]
L Gillett 60 [97]
K Pietersen 33 [29]
S Arangalla 2-33

Sri Lanka
S Aroos - b Anderson - 75 [104]
S Wijetinge - lbw b Blakemore - 56 [75]
I Anton - lbw b Swanton - 21 [35]
D Jayawardene - b Swanton - 18 [23]
J Zanhar - lbw b Duvall - 4 [6]
K Sangakkara - b Swanton - 36 [27]
A Perris - b Lewis - 20 [18]
K Fernando - not out - 21 [9]
S Arangalla - not out - 3 [7]
Extras - 8
Total: 262-7 (49.4 overs)

J Anderson 9-1-28-1
B Lewis 10-0-40-1
A Duvall 7-1-53-1
S Blakemore 10-0-39-1
K Pietersen 4-0-31-0
J Swanton 9.4-0-69-3

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

England in Bangladesh

2 Tests and 3 one-day internationals.

Squad News:
Ian Bell prepares to play his 100 Test match, as he enters the tour of Bangladesh with 99 Test caps.
The squad is unchanged from that which toured Sri Lanka.

Test squad:
Andrew Strauss (c) [36 years] - Opening Batsman
120 Tests
Bat 10605 runs @ 51.73

Chris Hanlan (wk) [23 years] - Wicketkeeper
31 Tests
Bat 769 runs @ 21.97

Larry Gillett (wk) [26 years] - Wicketkeeper
UNCAPPED
FC Bat 32.41

Christian Heath [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
34 Tests
Bat 2055 runs @ 42.81

Kevin Pietersen [33 years] - Specialist Batsman/Offspin
113 Tests
Bat 9591 runs @ 53.58
Bowl 25 wickets @ 59.52

Ian Bell [31 years] - Specialist Batsman/Medium
99 Tests
Bat 7084 runs @ 51.33
Bowl 45 wickets @ 48.49

Jon Kingsley [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
16 Tests
Bat 861 runs @ 39.14

James Morris [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
12 Tests
Bat 707 runs @ 44.19

Richard Greaves [26 years] - Specialist Batsman
UNCAPPED
FC Bat 32.77
FC Bowl 44.62

Terry Ashton [23 years] - Opening Batsman
UNCAPPED
FC Bat 35.57
FC Bowl 47.00

Derek Hanlan [25 years] - Specialist Bowler/Offspin
3 Tests
Bat 23 runs @ 4.60
Bowl 12 wickets @ 29.75

Stanley Blakemore [29 years] - Allrounder/Legspin
65 Tests
Bat 3107 runs @ 50.11
Bowl 275 wickets @ 28.28

Alan Duvall [26 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast
31 Tests
Bat 355 runs @ 15.43
Bowl 94 wickets @ 36.90

James Swanton [24 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
20 Tests
Bat 146 runs @ 13.27
Bowl 78 wickets @ 31.38

Brad Fullerton [27 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
34 Tests
Bat 357 runs @ 13.73
Bowl 107 wickets @ 35.18

Tim Marston [25 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
13 Tests
Bat 70 runs @ 7.78
Bowl 39 wickets @ 33.28

James Anderson [31 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
41 Tests
Bat 221 runs @ 8.84
Bowl 142 wickets @ 36.50

Ben Lewis [23 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Medium-Fast
10 Tests
Bat 131 runs @ 14.56
Bowl 22 wickets @ 50.59

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Squad News:
n/a

ODI squad:
Andrew Strauss (c) [36 years] - Opening Batsman
144 ODIs
Bat 5452 runs @ 42.26

Chris Hanlan (wk) [23 years] - Wicketkeeper
9 ODIs
Bat 93 runs @ 13.29

Larry Gillett (wk) [26 years] - Wicketkeeper
23 ODIs
Bat 279 runs @ 39.86

Christian Heath [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
111 ODIs
Bat 4098 runs @ 73.18
Bowl 1 wicket @ 77.00

Kevin Pietersen [33 years] - Specialist Batsman/Offspin
152 ODIs
Bat 5093 runs @ 42.44
Bowl 38 wickets @ 45.82 [4.82 econ]

Ian Bell [31 years] - Specialist Batsman/Medium
119 ODIs
Bat 4609 runs @ 43.48
Bowl 33 wickets @ 43.24 [4.59 econ]

Jon Kingsley [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
8 ODIs
Bat 124 runs @ 24.80

James Morris [28 years] - Specialist Batsman
3 ODIs
Bat 15 runs @ 5.00

Richard Greaves [26 years] - Specialist Batsman/Right Medium
UNCAPPED
OD Bat 25.62
OD Bowl 27.43

Terry Ashton [23 years] - Opening Batsman
23 ODIs
Bat 929 @ 42.23

Derek Hanlan [25 years] - Specialist Bowler/Offspin
UNCAPPED
OD Bat 12.07
OD Bowl 24.72 [5.31 econ]

Stanley Blakemore [29 years] - Allrounder/Legspin
90 ODIs
Bat 1431 runs @ 42.09
Bowl 129 wickets @ 24.02 [4.38 econ]

Alan Duvall [26 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast
43 ODIs
Bat 65 runs @ 8.12
Bowl 46 wickets @ 35.91 [4.73 econ]

James Swanton [24 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
53 ODIs
Bat 105 runs @ 13.12
Bowl 85 wickets @ 27.02 [5.06 econ]

Brad Fullerton [27 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
22 ODIs
Bat 58 runs @ 11.60
Bowl 21 wickets @ 39.14 [4.58 econ]

Tim Marston [25 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
UNCAPPED
OD Bat 4.22
OD Bowl 19.99 [4.13 econ]

James Anderson [31 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Fast-Medium
117 ODIs
Bat 111 runs @ 4.83
Bowl 170 wickets @ 25.14 [4.37 econ]

Ben Lewis [23 years] - Specialist Bowler/Right Medium-Fast
31 ODIs
Bat 38 runs @ 4.75
Bowl 39 wickets @ 28.33 [4.34 econ]

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

England v Dhaka

Squad News:
Ian Bell will continue at the top of the order and Liam Camps will audition middle order batsmen, playing all of Morris, Kingsley and Greaves and opting for only three specialist bowlers.

Andrew Strauss (c) [LHB]
Ian Bell [RHB / RM]
Christian Heath [RHB / RM]
James Morris [RHB / RM]
Jon Kingsley [RHB / RM]
Richard Greaves [RHB / RM]
Stanley Blakemore [RHB / LS]
Chris Hanlan (wk) [RHB]
Alan Duvall [RHB / RF]
James Swanton [RHB / RFM]
Tim Marston [RHB / RFM]

12th Man: Brad Fullerton [RHB / RFM]

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Honours even after England comeback

Day 1 - England XI vs Dhaka

Nafees Gul struck early blows for Dhaka, removing Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell, but England recovered from the early losses to end the first day of their Bangladesh tour opener, poised solidly at 288-6. Christian Heath fell a run short of his hundred and Jon Kingsley pressed for a hard-fought half-century in the recovery.

Gul returned to remove Kingsley in the final session, then Elias Sunny dismissed Richard Greaves for an encouraging 40. Stan Blakemore (22 not out) and Chris Hanlan (14 not out) saw England to stumps without further loss, however.

England XI 1st innings 288-6 (114 overs)
C Heath 99
J Kingsley 65
R Greaves 40
N Gul 3-31
A Sunny 2-75

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Spin the key, as Blakemore shines

Day 2 - England XI vs Dhaka

Stan Blakemore took 6 for 51 and powered England XI to a commanding position in their tour match against Dhaka. England surged to a lead of 101 on first innings, dismissing Dhaka for 218. Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell then carried the England total to 22-0 in the 5 overs to the close of play.

In the morning session, England XI batted briefly until the fall of Chris Hanlan for 28, then declared at 319-7. In response, Dhaka got to 84-1, then slumped to 156-7. Rashidul Haque contributed 43 to help recover the innings to 215-7, but Ian Bell claimed 2 wickets with his medium pace and hurried the end.

England XI heads into the final day of the match leading Dhaka by 123 runs.

England XI 1st innings 319-7 (129.2 overs)
C Heath 99
J Kingsley 65
R Greaves 40
S Blakemore 36*
N Gul 3-31
A Sunny 3-92

Dhaka 1st innings 218 all out (79.3 overs)
E Haider 78
R Haque 43
T Malik 29
S Blakemore 6-51
I Bell 2-26

England 2nd innings 22-0 (5 overs)

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Dhaka stun England in the gloom

Day 3 - England XI vs Dhaka

Andrew Strauss opted to give his bowlers some practice ahead of the first Test match, but the move cost his team victory, and Dhaka stole past England XI by 3 wickets with in the penultimate over of the match.

Stan Blakemore bowled with huge heart and achieved his second 6-wicket haul of the game, but all the other England bowlers laboured greatly. The seamers were made to look ordinary on a good batting surface and were easily dispatched for 3.5 an over by the home batsmen. Brother Elias and Arafat Sunny came together at 167-7 and welcomed the removal of Blakemore from the attack, following a 21-over spell. The two then pressed on to victory with an unbroken stand of 69.

England XI batted through the morning session and added 109 runs to their overnight total for the loss of 2 wickets. Strauss scored a pleasant 57 and both Ian Bell and Christian Heath contributed 28. Heath's innings was left unbeaten when Strauss called the innings closed.

England XI 1st innings 319-7 (129.2 overs)
C Heath 99
J Kingsley 65
R Greaves 40
S Blakemore 36*
N Gul 3-31
A Sunny 3-92

Dhaka 1st innings 218 all out (79.3 overs)
E Haider 78
R Haque 43
T Malik 29
S Blakemore 6-51
I Bell 2-26

England 2nd innings 131-3 (42.5 overs)
A Strauss 57
C Heath 28*
I Bell 28
M Hossain 2-8

Dhaka 2nd innings 236-7 [233 Target] (68.1 overs)
E Sunny 80*
W Arif 43
A Sunny 30*
S Blakemore 6-79

 

[Kweek]

good luck mr Bell in your 100th test

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

England 1st Test XI

Squad News:
Kevin Pietersen replaces Jon Kingsley from the team that played Dhaka, whilst Derek Hanlan comes in for Richard Greaves for a double spin attack.

Andrew Strauss (c) [LHB]
Ian Bell [RHB / RM]
Christian Heath [RHB / RM]
Kevin Pietersen [RHB / OS]
James Morris [RHB / RM]
Stanley Blakemore [RHB / LS]
Chris Hanlan (wk) [RHB]
Derek Hanlan [RHB / OS]
Alan Duvall [RHB / RF]
James Swanton [RHB / RFM]
Tim Marston [RHB / RFM]

12th Man: Brad Fullerton [RHB / RFM]

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Cautious Pietersen sets England platform

Day 1 - England v Bangladesh

It was a less than typical innings from Kevin Pietersen that starred on a day that England found shots hard to play and domination hard to get into gear. The leading middle order batsman was dropped on 9 and batted to 93 not out by the end of the day, sharing a 155-run partnership with Christian Heath for the third wicket. Heath was in similarly good touch, getting to 82 before he was yorked by Goran Haider.

The start of the day belonged to Ian Bell. After his captain won the toss and chose to take first strike, Bell took his guard in his inconic 100th Test match. Ranked the number one Test batsman in the world and with two hundreds in his last two Test innings, Bell looked to capitalize upon his good form. But instead he struggled to time the ball against disciplined Bangladesh seam bowling and followed Strauss (14) to the pavilion for a frustrating 19 from 71 balls.

England looked in trouble at 45-2, and it was then that Pietersen and Heath united to carry the came back into the visiting court, where it will start day two.

England 1st innings
* A Strauss - c A. Ahmed b K. Ahmed - 14
I Bell - c Haque b Islam - 19
C Heath - b Haider - 82
K Pietersen - not out - 93
J Morris - not out - 9
Extras - 9
Total - 229-3 (100 overs)

W Nisar 23-4-54-0
G Haider 19-6-28-1
K Ahmed 6-0-19-1
N Iqbal 4-2-6-0
M Islam 29-6-72-1
E Sunny 19-7-40-0

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Hanlan stars after Pietersen falls

Day 2 - England v Bangladesh

Young wicketkeeper Chris Hanlan showed that he is growing into his shoes as an international batsman, striking 7 fours and a six in an innings of 55 from 89 balls that revived England after the early fall of Kevin Pietersen on day two. Pietersen got to his 33rd Test hundred, but was dismissed soon after as he tried to dominate the Bangladeshi bowling.

His overnight partner (*snicker*) James Morris improved his score of 9 not out to 53, then dragged on a delivery from left-arm spinner Elias Sunny. Stan Blakemore looked out of sorts for his 18, then Hanlan came to the crease and was made to bat with the tail. Though he received little support, it was enough to stake his claim with a fine half-century and England closed on 385 all out.

Alan Duvall sparked the final session of the day to life. Fierce and quick bowling from him had the Bangladesh batsmen struggling to put bat to ball, and he ripped out two early wickets. Derek Hanlan was the only other successful bowler for England on the evening though, as he bowled Nafees Iqbal - Bangladesh's most prolific batsman - for 31.

England 1st innings
* A Strauss - c Ar Ahmed b K. Ahmed - 14
I Bell - c Haque b Islam - 19
C Heath - b Haider - 82
K Pietersen - c Ar Ahmed b Islam - 106
J Morris - b Sunny - 53
S Blakemore - st Ar Ahmed b Sunny - 18
C Hanlan - b Haider - 55
D Hanlan - c Saleh b Haider - 8
A Duvall - lbw b Islam - 3
J Swanton - b Islam - 0
T Marston - not out - 2
Extras - 25
Total - 385 all out (159 overs)

W Nisar 37-6-85-0
G Haider 30-6-60-4
K Ahmed 6-0-19-1
N Iqbal 4-2-6-0
M Islam 53-10-137-4
E Sunny 29-10-60-1

Bangladesh 1st innings
Ar Ahmed - c C. Hanlan b Duvall - 1
N Iqbal - b D. Hanlan - 31
K Ahmed - c Swanton b Duvall - 12
Af Ahmed - not out - 25
R Saleh - not out - 3
Extras - 2
Total - 74-3 (35 overs)

T Marston 6-0-13-0
A Duvall 7-3-16-2
J Swanton 7-1-23-0
S Blakemore 9-4-13-0
D Hanlan 6-1-9-1

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Sensation Saleh steals England's limelight

Day 3 - England v Bangladesh

Rajin Saleh took to the English bowlers and smashed 22 boundaries in his Test high score of 183. Bangladesh got to 372-9 and stunned England, frustrating the bowlers throughout the day before James Swanton struck twice in the penultimate over of the day.

Swanton removed Saleh first, and the batsman walked off to a tremendous standing ovation. That the second highest score of the innings was Aftab Ahmed's 59 served to confirm the epic nature of the innings. All the England bowlers, bar Marston, claimed 2 wickets.

England lead Bangladesh by 13 runs heading into the fourth day of the Test.

England 1st innings 385 all out (159 overs)
K Pietersen 106
C Heath 82
C Hanlan 55
J Morris 53
G Haider 4-60
M Islan 4-137

Bangladesh 1st innings
Ar Ahmed - c C. Hanlan b Duvall - 1
N Iqbal - b D. Hanlan - 31
K Ahmed - c Swanton b Duvall - 12
Af Ahmed - c C. Hanlan b Blakemore - 59
R Saleh - lbw b Swanton - 183
T Malik - c C. Hanlan b Marston - 6
M Islam - lbw b D. Hanlan - 32
E Sunny - lbw b Blakemore - 38
G Haider - not out - 1
W Nisar - c Pietersen b Swanton - 0
E Haque - not out - 0
Extras - 9
Total - 372-9 (134 overs)

T Marston 22-2-60-1
A Duvall 26-7-82-2
J Swanton 26-5-74-2
S Blakemore 35-7-75-2
D Hanlan 25-3-75-2

 

[steds]

Camps Out!

Amen.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Day 4 - England v Bangladesh

More accolades poured in for Ian Bell. In his 100th Test, Bell scored 14th Test ton and led England to a commanding position heading into the final day of the first Test. Bell finished the day on 121 and pushed England to 252-3, a lead of 265 overall.

Tim Marston wasted no time in finishing off the Bangladesh innings with the second ball of the day, but the home side pulled back a wicket immediately at the start of the England innings. Strauss punched the first ball of the innings through the covers for four, then was caught sharply at slip a ball later off the bowling of Nisar.

Christian Heath joined Bell and the two put on 127 for the second wicket. When Pietersen replaced Heath, dismissed for 67, he proceeded to partner Bell for a further 108 runs for the 3rd wicket. Nisar returned to find the edge of Pietersen's bat late in the day and James Morris only had time to score 5 runs before play was called.

England 1st innings 385 all out (159 overs)
K Pietersen 106
C Heath 82
C Hanlan 55
J Morris 53
G Haider 4-60
M Islan 4-137

Bangladesh 1st innings
Ar Ahmed - c C. Hanlan b Duvall - 1
N Iqbal - b D. Hanlan - 31
K Ahmed - c Swanton b Duvall - 12
Af Ahmed - c C. Hanlan b Blakemore - 59
R Saleh - lbw b Swanton - 183
T Malik - c C. Hanlan b Marston - 6
M Islam - lbw b D. Hanlan - 32
E Sunny - lbw b Blakemore - 38
G Haider - not out - 1
W Nisar - c Pietersen b Swanton - 0
E Haque - b Marston - 0
Extras - 9
Total - 372 all out (134.2 overs)

T Marston 22.2-2-60-2
A Duvall 26-7-82-2
J Swanton 26-5-74-2
S Blakemore 35-7-75-2
D Hanlan 25-3-75-2

England 2nd innings
A Strauss - c Malik b Nisar - 4
I Bell - not out - 121
C Heath - b Islam - 67
K Pietersen - c Ar Ahmed b Nisar - 47
J Morris - not out - 5
Extras - 8
Total - 252-3 (96 overs)

W Nisar 26-6-63-2
G Haider 17-2-47-0
K Ahmed 2-0-6-0
M Islam 29-7-71-1
E Sunny 21-2-57-0
N Iqbal 1-0-5-0