England v Bangladesh: 2nd Test, 2nd Day - England on the Brink of an Embarrassing Defeat

 

England v Bangladesh: 2^nd Test, 2^nd Day

England on the Brink of an Embarrassing Defeat

October 29^th 2016

There is every possibility that the Test will end on the 3^rd Day, or early on the 4^th and, barring yet another huge swing of fortune, England look set to become the first of the Big Six to lose a Test to Bangladesh. I would try to find a positive spin to put on things, but that would test even a politician.

The good news: Zafar Ansari was actually trusted to bowl in the second innings (Simon Kerrigan never got that chance) and took two wickets, including one with the last ball of the day that has just about kept England in with a chance.

The bad news: just about everything else. An abysmal collapse to 144-8 – this time Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes could not make up for the failings of others – followed by a poor bowling effort. Suffice to say that Ben Stokes, who has gone for 4.0 per over, has been the most economical of the bowlers.

Twice, England got a toe-hold in the game. First, Woakes and Adil Rashid put on 99 for the ninth wicket to get England a precious 24 run lead. Then, after Bangladesh had set off at 5-an-over, wiping out the deficit in just 5 overs, two wickets in three balls seemed to wrest control back. You could sense that another wicket could lead to Bangladesh choking and crumbling. Instead, Mahmudullah and Keyes went for their shots, the scoreboard started to rattle around when England needed three consecutive maidens. England have only bowled a single maiden in the whole innings and the last ten overs of the day went for 53 before Ansari ended the fun by bowling a straight ball at Mahmudullah, which the batsman kindly missed completely.

The lead is now 128. If it passes 200, England will struggle. If it reaches 250, we might as well go home. Going to India having lost an eighth final Test in their last ten series and, this time, providing Bangladesh with a first major scalp, is no preparation for a series against the current #1 Test side.

England v Bangladesh: 2nd Test, 1st Day - Curried Calypso Collapso

 

England v Bangladesh: 2^nd Test, 1^st Day

Curried Calypso Collapso

October 28^th 2016

We have only had a shortened first day and already we are a third of the way through this Test. It is a denouement that seemed unlikely when Bangladesh went to Lunch in a comfortable position at 118-1 thanks to some pretty ropy England bowling. Even the one wicket was due to a bad shot to a worse ball. With the partnership prospering in the hour after Lunch  it looked as if England’s worst nightmare was coming true: watch Bangladesh make 400+ at a cracking pace and then come under pressure on a pitch taking increasing spin. It had all the makings of a match being lost on the first day. It also had the pundits looking at the pitch and suggesting that it was flat and had nothing in it.

A cynical comment was that the only way that England looked like taking a wicket was to lull the batsmen into a false sense of security and that England were doing a lot of lulling.

It worked.

First, Tamim padded-up to a pretty inoffensive ball from Moeen that’s only lethal quality was that it was straight.

It did not seem to matter, Mominul and Mahmudullah added 19 runs in 3 overs. That seemed to be their undoing. Ben Stokes was brought back in an attempt to slow the scoring and, suddenly, as if inspired, Moeen Ali’s bowling clicked.

Batsmen who had been scoring at will suddenly found Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali bowling dot ball after dot ball. Nine dots and Mominul got a lovely ball from Moeen. The next 30 balls produced just three scoring shots and Mahmudullah can only be described as having been fretted out by Stokes. As length and line tightened, Bangladeshi batsmen disintegrated.

This was Calypso cricket at its best: hammer the bowling to all parts and then collapse in a heap. Less than 23 overs after being 171-1, Bangladesh had somehow fallen to 220 all out.

A lot of credit is due to Moeen Ali, who bowled his best spell for a very long time. A lot too to Ben Stokes for kicking him into life. Five wickets in the innings. Ten wickets @ 19.2 so far in the series. 19 wickets at 32 and 375 runs at 75 so far in his last 5 Tests: Moeen is in the form of his life.

Sadly Zafar Ansari’s debut has brought back memories of Simon Kerrigan. Six nervous overs for 36 and you could almost see the mental filecard in Alistair Cook’s mind, slipping him into the “do not re-use” category. Cook was not sympathetic with Kerrigan’s plight and he has never been as effective since. A survivor of that debacle was another debutant, Chris Woakes, who was also put to the sword that day in 2013: he though wrapped-up the tail today as Ansari languished in the outfield.

Stokes’s 11-5-13-2 was heroic. It is hard to remember that he was the same player who was often too expensive to be risked a couple of years ago. He has become a brutally efficient competitor. His figures in the series are a staggering 36.3-12-59-8.

However, by collapsing, Bangladesh had 24 overs to bowl as conditions worsened and rain approached. Once again, the top order came, saw, surrendered and headed back to the pavilion. It is getting depressing.

We were told that Alistair Cook was batting beautifully in the nets. However, off-field distractions, two inter-continental flights and no match practice are taking their toll. His scores in the series so far are 4, 12 & 14.

Ben Duckett was brought in to give England some fast starts. He has contributed 14, 15 & 7.

And poor Gary Ballance has 1, 9 & 9. Surely he cannot be used in India? However, that would mean bringing back Jos Buttler (just one, brief red ball innings all year) or giving a debut to Hameed, who has not played since the warm-ups.

At 42-3, England desperately need a century from someone. And the rescue act, once again, will fall on Moeen, Bairstow and Stokes.

Reach 300 today and win. Question is: can the middle order bail out England again and get them there?

England v Bangladesh: 2nd Test Preview - Time to Break the Final Test Hoodoo

 

England v Bangladesh: 2^nd Test Preview

Time to Break the Final Test Hoodoo

October 27^th 2016

The last time that England won the final Test of a series was against India in 2014. Since then, with the single exception of this spring’s final Test against Sri Lanka, England have lost six of seven final Tests and seven of the last nine.

It is not a comforting statistic.

Series that should have been won have been tied. Series that could have been tied have been lost.

And now England affront another final Test with the series in the balance: win and England keep their winning record against Bangladesh and move into 3^rd place above Australia in the ICC Test rankings; lose and the series is only shared, there is a hefty loss of ranking points and England will face India in the worst possible frame of mind.

After the narrow win in the 1^st Test, Ansari comes in for Batty and Finn for Broad. Both are risky changes. Batty gave control, if limited threat and Broad’s burst on the penultimate evening set up the win, pulling the rug from underneath the Bangladesh charge to victory. In exchange, we have a Test debutant in Ansari and a bowler who, when he gets it right, is capable of devastating spells but, when the biorhythms are wrong, has the control of a paint spray, but none of its accuracy.

Unless it goes to Moeen Ali (and Alistair Cook obviously does not trust him to deliver), Finn will take the new ball with Woakes. The Bangladesh openers are in fine form and if Finn gets it wrong, could make a jet-propelled start. However, Bangladesh is where Steve Finn suddenly broke through in 2009: spotted in the nets in the UAE, where he could not get into the Lions XI, he went straight from being an unwanted net bowler for the shadow side, into the Test XI. England will hope that Steve Finn re-captures that spirit.

Similarly, there is method behind the selection of Zafar Ansari. He did not have a great season after a second injury halted his return to the Surrey side, but he turns the ball from leg to off at a decent pace, offers a different line and is likely to be a better foil for Moeen Ali than either Adil Rashid or Gareth Batty.

The Bangladeshi’s say that they do not know how the pitch will play, but it will be a major surprise if it does not offer big turn from the first morning. The joker in the pack though is the typhoon in the Bay of Bengal that could cause a significant amount of play to be lost.

England have the weapons to win, but it is all too easy to see how it could go horribly wrong. If Bangladesh were to win the Toss and score 400, as they are quite capable of doing, it would require a heroic effort by England (and probably some help from rain) even to secure the draw.

England v Bangladesh: 1st Test, Day 5 - DRS the Winner

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test, Day 5

DRS the Winner

October 24^th 2016

There was something appropriate in the way that the match ended this morning. The end was swift – it took just 21 balls – it was brought about by Ben Stokes, who did so much to keep England in the match and it came courtesy of two reviews of decisions by Umpire Dharmasena, one overturned, the second upheld. In all, there were 26 reviews, 16 of them against Dharmesena, 8 of them upheld (including an extraordinary 3 in 6 balls). In contrast, only 3 of the 10 against Umpire Gaffney were upheld.

The lessons were that (1) it is tough being an umpire when the ball is turning a lot, Test umpires do not get a lot of experience of standing to over after over of spin with the ball turning a lot in oppressive weather (2) 25% of the wickets in the Test would have been wrongly given if DRS had not been available – it ensured fairness for both sides – and (3) making good and sensible use of reviews is a vital part of the game now. Each side made 13 reviews, although England were more successful, in part thanks to Moeen, in getting 7 decisions overturned to Bangladesh’s 4. That 7-4 ratio was almost certainly the difference between winning and losing.

DRS had a big impact in the result. Had Moeen Ali been given on the first day, England would probably have lost; Moeen though showed the value of judicious use of DRS by a batsman (Shane Watson please take note). Similarly, had England not had a review available on the last morning, Ben Stokes would not have made the vital early breakthrough. A million Bangladesh fans though will believe that the final dismissal – eerily reminiscent of the final wicket in the famous second tied Test in India – was wrongly given by both the on-field and third umpire and that the #11 was playing a shot and hence should not have been given out LBW. Probably it would have made no difference: with 23 still wanted and the last man in the sights of fresh bowlers, it was all but a lost cause, but Bangladesh fans will always wonder.

For Bangladesh, it was heart-wrenchingly close. Probably there was not a neutral in the world who was not pulling for them. It is not the first time: a defeat by a single wicket in Pakistan in 2003 when Bangladesh deserved to win; at this very ground in 2008 New Zealand were set 317 to win and got home by three wickets. And, what would have been the jewel in the crown: a narrow home defeat to the all-conquering Australians in 2006 in a game that Australia could so easily have lost.

Although the result takes England’s winning streak to nine, the likelihood of another lively pitch on Friday, combined with England’s final Test blues means that only a fool would put much money on England sealing the series 2-0.

For England, it is obvious that not all was well. Gary Ballance’s form is a real worry. The struggles of the top four are a real worry and the lack of control by the spinners, was a worry. There is also the not inconsiderable consideration that batting reserve, Hameed, spinning all-rounder, Ansari and bowling reserve, Steve Finn, have had very little cricket with no warm-ups to come in India.

There are multiple possibilities. The most likely are:

·         Rest two seamers – probably Broad and Woakes – and play Finn and Ball.  This would lengthen the tail by removing the valuable batting of Chris Woakes, but it would reward Jake Ball who proved such a success in the ODIs.

·         Rest a seamer – probably Woakes – and play Ansari instead. Events showed that having a third seamer was essential to engineering the Bangladesh collapses at the end of both innings.

·         Rest Rashid and play Ansari. This is an attractive option. Both spin from leg to off, but Ansari is a left-armer and would give a different line of attack. Adil Rashid had a brilliant ODI series, but has been frustratingly inconsistent in Tests. Here he took only three, relatively expensive wickets, the fewest of any of the front-line spinners in the match. However, you can also argue that Rashid will only learn by playing Tests and gaining experience and will surely be needed in India.

·         Play Ansari instead of Ballance. This would maintain the three seamers and give an extra spin option, without weakening significantly the batting. It would also give Ansari the debut that he would surely have had in the UAE last winter had he not been injured.

·         Play Hameed instead of Ballance. The top-order collapses cannot be ignored. Hameed’s fighting qualities would help provide solidity, as well as blooding him for the possible need to play him in India.

My preference would be to play Ansari instead of Ballance, without discounting the possibility of playing at least one of Ball and Finn. However, recovery and net form over the next couple of days may well be the deciding factors for the selectors.

England v Bangladesh: 1st Test, Day 4, A Classic Test on an Excellent Surface Heading to a Dramatic Conclusion

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test, Day 4

A Classic Test on an Excellent Surface Heading to a Dramatic Conclusion

October 23^rd 2016

 

For a fourth day momentum has swung from side to side like a demented pendulum that cannot quite make up its mind. The result is a classic match, played on a pitch that is providing some wonderful, tense cricket. And, thanks to a slow over-rate on what should have been the last day, will go into a fifth morning that seemed totally implausible on the first day.

We have ended the day where we started, with England favourite to win but, like on the third day, Bangladesh have dominated large parts of it and, at one point seemed to be strolling to victory. Right now, the odds favour England, but one loose over would leave Bangladesh again close to victory. We are also just two overs from the new ball but, suddenly, the old ball has started to talk for Stuart Broad who has pulled England back into the match.

Things started badly. When you have two, capable batsmen at the crease and are looking to push the target right out of reach, the last thing that you need is a stupid runout almost before the crowd has settled in its seats. Nerves or whatever, it gave Bangladesh a chance and torpedoed any chance of setting a target over 300. Gareth Batty was, in his day, a formidable lower-order batsman, but he is that no longer and, the inevitable result was that within four overs, Bangladesh were batting, facing a chase far beyond anything that they have ever previously achieved, but certainly achievable for this much-improved team.

The pundits felt that anything over 180 gave England a real chance. Anything over 250 should be unreachable. The final target was 286 and should have been completely safe. However, with 18 coming from the first three overs with the new ball and then Bangladesh motoring on at 4-an-over, with wickets not falling, the runs required were falling at an alarming rate.

Even though Moeen Ali got the breakthrough with the dismissal of the dangerous Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsmen have applied the same tactic that other sides have used: go after him without mercy as probably the most dangerous member of the attack. Probably they also figure into the equation that Alistair Cook, who has learnt his game in a mostly spin-free era, is not comfortable with spinners and tends to struggle to get the best out of them. In general, a spinner likes to see the batsman taking him on, but only when the captain is going to give him the necessary support and protection. There is no embarrassment in taking your wickets to catches on the boundary – they all count – the thing is to get the batsman to make a mistake and offer a chance. However, Alistair Cook, rather than put in an extra boundary fielder, tends to whip the spinner straight out of the attack. In the wicketless hour after Tea, when Bangladesh were slowly grinding their way to what looked like an inevitable victory and England were desperate for a wicket, despite that fact that Adil Rashid was bowling some absolute jaffas, you felt that it was Moeen who was more likely to make something happen. Cook though was scared of letting Bangladesh get some easy runs and kept Moeen out of the attack. When Gareth Batty finally was asked to take over, Bangladesh relaxed, went after him and it took just five balls to get the breakthrough. Three overs later Stuart Broad hammered the ball into the pads, desperation-time review and, suddenly, the match was back in the balance.

Credit to Stuart Broad. For many he was the player who should make way for Zafar Ansari in the 2^nd Test but, like Ben Stokes in the first innings, he bowled a magnificent late spell, with some explosive deliveries. Five balls after his first wicket he produced another fine ball and Ballance, at short leg, had his second catch in five overs and some relief for him after a poor match.

That should have been that, but the 9^th wicket pair have put on 15 so far and the target is only 33 away. With Shabbir still at the crease, Bangladesh know that victory is within reach. However, Cook’s decision to force the issue of the light by refusing to take off the quick bowlers was a wise one. The young Bangladesh players are going to pass a sleepless night and arrive at the ground with fried nerves tomorrow. It could be all over very fast in the morning, or we could be in for around an hour of incredible drama and tension.

Either way, it has been a magnificent Test and Bangladesh have shown just how much they have improved as a side. Win or lose, young guns on both sides have been blooded in a fiery cauldron of Test cricket.

England v Bangladesh: 1st Test, Day 3 - The Sting in England’s Tail Augers Well for India

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test, Day 3

The Sting in England’s Tail Augers Well for India

October 22nd 2016

 

First the good news: England are in a strong position to win the Test, something that India and South Africa failed to do in Bangladesh last year.

Now the bad news: it only came after another horrific top-order collapse that left the match in the balance again.

At first sight, normal service. England established a useful lead of 45 in a low-scoring Test. However, with Bangladesh 221-4 just before the Close last night, only 72 behind and looking comfortable, it could so easily have been 100 behind. When Ben Stokes took Mushfiqur Rahim’s wicket just before the Close last night, it was getting close to desperation time. Even so, Bangladesh must have been expecting to earn a lead of some kind. Little could anyone imagine that Moeen Ali would start the morning with a bang taking the sort of wicket that only Moeen seems to take: Shakib Al Hasan, who many would argue is the best player that Bangladesh have ever produced, gave him the charge, second ball of the morning and wonder of wonders, Jonny Bairstow made the stumping.

The opprobrium of Shakib has been almost universal – it set the tone for a horrendous Bangladesh capitulation – but it is just an extension of the tactics that we have seen so often, particularly from Asian batsmen: go after Moeen and try to destroy his confidence. Had the stroke been better executed, it would have been a six second ball of the day and the momentum would have been right back with Bangladesh. Like Adil Rashid, Moeen can be expensive and give you a bumper bag of liquorice allsorts, but he also makes things happen and takes too many wickets for it to be pure chance. Batsmen look at him and think that it is their lucky day if this is the best that England can offer, but keep falling to him.

Moeen’s last 5 Tests have produced 398 runs at 56.9 and 14 wickets, albeit at the slightly inflated cost of 41.9. And were it not for the fact that Ben Stokes has set himself up for it, he would have a real shout at the Man-of-the-Match award (and may yet win it). England are fortunate to have Moeen and Ben Stokes (250 runs at 35.7 and 17 wickets at 18.2 in his last 5 Tests) to provide stability and, on occasion, a substantial sting in the tail for England when 4 or 5 wickets have fallen cheaply, as they have in both innings here.

With Adil Rashid giving support with the wicket of Shafiul Islam, just as it looked as if Bangladesh had weathered the early storm, the new ball in the hands of Ben Stokes proved to be a catch-weight contest against the tail. It left Stokes with the extraordinary figures of 14-5-26-4 and England’s seamers bowling a combined 29 overs for just 53 runs.

What we are seeing is a pattern: the ball spins a lot when hard and batting is really tough for the first 30 overs with the new ball; then, as it softens, batting becomes substantially easier. England were 21-3 in the 1^st innings and 28-3 in the 2^nd. England’s top 4 have registered just one score of more than 15 in 8 attempts in the match, which is not good enough. Much of the scrutiny will fall on Gary Ballance (1 & 9) and many will wonder if England might not have done better to give his place to Zafar Ansari, whose chances of a debut in the 2^nd Test must be improving by the day. A graphic published by the BBC, showing the constant and alarming downward trend in Ballance’s runs per Test over his career has done him no favours and shown – quite literally, graphically – his continuing decline in form. Similarly, there will be those who wonder if, given what has happened, Hameed’s grit at the top of the order might have been preferable to Duckett’s bluster. However, now that England have gone down the Duckett route they will most certainly give him a few Tests. They will be hoping that Duckett helps to give England the explosive starts that they been missing since Marcus Trescothick retired from Tests.

The best news for England is that they are showing that they can deal with a sharply spinning ball, with noisy fielders crowding the bat putting excessive pressure on the umpires, with the knack of getting their DRS challenges right and, even if they are 4 or 5 down for not very much, can come back and make a competitive total. One or two of the tremendously dismissive Indian fans may just be wondering about their predictions of a totally uncompetitive massacre and a 5-0 scoreline. Similarly, the seamers are managing to get some reverse swing, whereas the Bangladesh attack, more used to the conditions, is achieving very little. We even had the slightly bizarre spectacle of Bangladesh bringing back a seamer, seemingly to rest its spinners!

Speaking of DRS, this has been an extraordinary match: 19 reviews in the match (one more will make this the Test with the highest number of reviews ever), 9 decisions overturned (a record), 6 of them from Umpire Dharmasena, who will be dreaming of players in white making T-shapes for some time after this Test.

England need Woakes and Broad to hang around for a while in the morning. Alternatively, if Stuart Broad can remember the persona who, in the past, changed innings by slogging a quick 30 or 40, that will also do nicely. If they reach 248, they will condemn Bangladesh to make the highest score of the match to win. 254 would push the victory target up to 300. And 272 all out would set Bangladesh the challenge of making the highest ever successful chase at this ground to win.

In summary: the key numbers for England:
217 - Bangladesh's highest ever successful 4th innings chase (215 was the target).
248 - England will set Bangladesh the highest total of the match to win.
254 - Bangladesh will need 300 to win.
272 - Bangladesh will need to beat the highest ever successful chase at this ground to win.
Only 28 times in Test cricket has a side chased 300 or more successfully to win.

England v Bangladesh: 1st Test, Day 1: Trial by Spin

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test, Day 1

Trial by Spin

October 20^th  2016

From what we have seen so far, this Test may well not make it into a fifth day. A spinner taking the new ball in a Test match is already a collector’s item: even in the heyday of the great Indian spin quartet in the 1970s Eknath Solkar would trot in for two or three overs of gentle medium pace to remove the shine first. A spinner taking the new ball in a Test and immediately getting big turn at 10am on the first morning is unheard of. Bangladesh are following big time the theory that England cannot play spin. In passing, they are also preparing England for a trial by spin in India. First indications are that England may not be as ill-prepared as some Indian fans are hoping.

Already there are suggestions that England may have missed a trick by picking only three spinners. The suggestion, made on TMS – no less – is that Zafar Ansari perhaps should have played instead of Stuart Broad. And, when asked about it, Jon Agnew said that quite possibly England could take that route after this Test.

Back in the 1970s, India would regularly play one seamer and four spinners, plus a batsman who could do a reasonable imitation. Even England have done it. In 1974, England’s tour of the Caribbean initially lurched from disaster to disaster but, after an amazing rearguard from Denis Amiss, some fight and a little help from rain, arrived at the second Trinidad Test only 1-0 down and with a six-day Test in prospect. Having to win the Test to save the series, England opted for a four-man spin attack – Underwood, Pocock, Birkenshaw and Greig – with Geoff Arnold to take the new ball and Greig bowling a few overs of seam before switching to off-breaks. Needless to say, Geoff Boycott scored 99 and 112, the West Indies were set 226 to win and slumped from 63-0 to 199 all out. Greig took 13 wickets, all with spin and England won. Such selections were also seen regularly in the 1980s as, for example New Zealand packed their side with spinners in Pakistan and gave the new ball to Martin Crowe.

These days it is less common to find a pitch that is massively loaded in favour of the spinners. Perhaps cricket has missed out because of it and we should thank the likes of Somerset for bringing back the joys of seeing spin bowlers weave their magic and batsmen working hard to keep out the spinning ball.

At 21-3, with Cook, Duckett and Ballance all falling to spin, there was a chance that England could have been facing defeat even by the end of the first day. All out for around 100, Bangladesh building a lead by the Close. Armageddon. The end of the cricketing universe. It is hard to remember that Bangladesh are no longer push-overs at home: they drew their Test with India last year and were denied a likely win against South Africa by rain. That England are still batting and, some would say, already approaching a potentially match-winning score, is down to a remarkable innings from Moeen Ali, supported by Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes.

Moeen looked totally lost initially but, aided by a drop and by no less than five successful recourses to DRS, scored 68 and looked set for another fighting century when, finally, a ball from debutant Mehedi Hasan was too good even for him. What made the innings even better is that the Bangladesh bowlers showed tremendous skill and control and some that of the wicket-taking deliveries were just brilliant.

Runs have to be ground out. The feeling is that if England can get past 300 they will be in a strong position, provided that the England spinners show similar skill and discipline. For England to reach 300, they will need Chris Woakes to continue to bat as well as he has over the last few months and reach a third Test 50. Adil Rashid has the skill to stay with him for some time and will remember his own batting heroics in a similar situation a year ago in the UAE.

What is annoying is the way that many fans are continuing to rubbish the England side and, in particular, Moeen Ali. Two centuries and four fifties in Tests in 2016, often fighting rearguards in difficult positions, plus sixteen wickets (eleven of them in his last four Tests) have let him more than justify his place. Moeen seems to suffer from extremely high expectations being placed on him. Often we forget that even Graeme Swann was the subject of opprobrium for being too often ineffective, despite being England’s most successful post-war spinner (with the possible exception of Deadly Derek Underwood).

With conditions being tough – hot and very humid – not even a spinner is going to be able to bowl a long spell, although Mehedi Hasan managed an astonishing 33 out of 92 overs in the day. The aim for England will be to bat until as close to Lunch as possible and close down one end when bowling, while probing from the other. On whether or not they can do it will hinge the outcome of this Test and, quite possibly, the Winter.

England v Bangladesh: 1st Test Preview, England Face Tricky Decisions

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test Preview

England Face Tricky Decisions

October 19^th  2016

No one knows what side England will pick for tomorrow’s 1^st Test. There are opinions for all tastes. It is assumed that the balance will be 3 seamers + 3 spinners. However, past that, the side is quite uncertain and will depend on the gut-feeling of management on the day.

The key decisions are:

Who will open with Alistair Cook? Ben Duckett looked to have sealed his place in the warm-ups having done so well in the ODIs. He is definitely the better foil for Alistair Cook: dasher to Cook’s patient approach, Duckett could hit the attack off its line and demoralise it early. In contrast, Hameed is more patient and scores slowly. He would wear down and tire the bowlers.  A few days ago it looked as if Duckett would get the nod, now the smart money seems to be on Hameed.

Who will bat at #3? There is a case for playing Duckett or Hameed at #3 and allowing Joe Root to move back to his preferred #4 spot, or for the one of the two who is not picked to open coming in at #4. Would England risk debutants opening and at first drop?

Ballance or the loser between Hameed and Duckett? An extension of the previous poser. Reading the runes from the warm-up, the fact that Ballance came in so low down the order seemed to suggest that he was unlikely to play although, his experience could be preferred. However, his county season was poor apart from one, large innings and his Test form has been mediocre, as have been his returns in the warm-ups. The press seem to want/expect Ballance to play. The braver call would be to play Duckett.

Who will be third spinner? It is assumed that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will be the first two names after Alistair Cook and Joe Root. Off spin and leg break. With searing heat and humidity, spinners will have to bowl long, containing spells. That would favour the nous of Gareth Batty over the precocious talent of Zafir Ansari. However, Batty is now 39 and has been tried and found wanting at this level. It is true though that Pat Pocock, Peter Such, John Childs and Shaun Udal were all gloriously re-commissioned, but it is still a gamble. It also means playing two off-spinners. Ansari has the advantage of being younger and of being conventional slow left arm, giving Alistair Cook three, quite distinct styles and lines of attack. Ansari was also the choice for the UAE tour last winter and, if only for consistency, should be tried. Personally, I would prefer Ansari, but can see why Batty might be picked ahead of him.

There is even the long-shot option that England could play all four spinners and sacrifice a batsman. With Stuart Broad, who averages 22 in Tests, likely to bat at #11 and three of the four spinners, as well as two of the three seamers able to play as specialist batsmen, England would still bat down to #9. Critics would say that it would mean England playing too many all-rounders who are not good enough either with the bat or with the ball, but it might be the pragmatic choice.

It seems that the seamers will be Broad, Woakes and Stokes. Steve Finn, who made such an impact on debut in Bangladesh in 2009, looks unlikely to be considered and poor old Jake Ball, star of the ODIs, seems to have been mislaid, as he has vanished without trace.

There is also a case for playing Jos Buttler in the middle order. England’s management wants to get him in the side, but his only red ball innings of the year, in the second warm-up, was extremely brief. It would be a very difficult decision to play him over a player who has recent red ball form.

There are so many options that we may well see a few surprises in the final XI.

England v Bangladesh: ODI Defeat Provides a Warning

 

England v Bangladesh

ODI Defeat Provides a Warning

October 10^th  2016

 Having scrapped and scraped to a remarkable win in the 1^st ODI on Friday, defeat in the 2^nd ODI gives due warning of England’s task. No longer can a side appear in Chittagong or Dhaka with a 2^nd XI and expect to win without breaking sweat.

In the last two years Bangladesh have only played eight home Tests – security concerns, the fact that Bangladesh tours are not marketable and a general indifference to touring the country have assured that – but those eight Tests have come over four series against Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan and South Africa. Just one of those series has been lost. The overall balance is W3 L1 D4 respectable, even if we take into account that the three wins were the Tests against Zimbabwe and the two South Africa Tests were largely washed-out, although with Bangladesh in a good position to push for the win in the 1^st Test. Bangladesh are no longer easy pickings to improve averages and recover lost form. The solitary defeat was against Pakistan, albeit a very heavy one.

In ODIs Bangladesh’s form has been even better. Twenty-two home ODIs over the last two years have brought a balance of W18 L4. Series won against Zimbabwe (two whitewashes), Pakistan (whitewash), India (2-1), South Africa (2-1), Afghanistan (2-1) and now England (1-1, with one to play).

From being treated as somewhat of a joke in cricket circles, Bangladesh are now beginning to become formidable opponents at home. That formidable that while they do not win many matches yet, they can now reasonably aspire to draw a large fraction of home Tests, which is the essential preliminary to starting to win.

Winning is still the major issue. Bangladesh’s overall Test record is P93, W7, L71, D15, with five of the seven wins against Zimbabwe and the other two against what was not much more than a West Indian 3^rd XI in 2009. However, since the start of 2013, Bangladesh’s home record is definitely respectable in so far as avoiding defeat is concerned:

	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	% Defeats
Overall	51	4	35	12	69%
Before 2013	39	1	33	5	85%
Since 2013	12	3	2	7	17%

Those twelve Tests cover the series previously mentioned, plus Tests against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. It all amounts to a warning that England’s 100% record against Bangladesh – played 8, won 8 – will be under serious threat and, were the worst to happen and the 1st Test be lost, chances are that the series would be lost too. In those eight Tests over four series since 2003, the narrowest margin of victory has been by 7 wickets in the very first match.

It also suggests that it is time to re-consider the policy of resting players for tours of Bangladesh. There was a time when England could play simultaneous series in the Caribbean and New Zealand, win both at a canter and still leave a number of their best players at home: those days though are now long gone. If you do not pick your best XI you are not going to expect to win: you may not win even if you do take all your best players.

In the past, England have tried players such as Martin Saggers, Rikki Clarke and Ajmal Shahzad (6 Tests between them, 4 of them against Bangladesh) in these series. In part it has been to rest players, in part to blood plausible reserves. As Bangladesh get stronger, using them to test reserves gets to be increasingly productive in that it becomes a real test of a player’s capacity to perform at this level. It is also a real dress rehearsal for the tour of India that follows. In that sense, taking players like Gareth Batty who seem unlikely to be part of future plans is less re-assuring than taking someone like Leach or Rayner.

The reasoning seems to be that, with very little cricket outside the internationals, England want to have a player like Batty on hand who could play at a moment’s notice if someone gets injured on the morning of a game. However, they are also carrying Sam Billings and Liam Dawson in the ODI squad when both seem increasingly unlikely to play at all on the tour. While the former has a good List A record, the latter has had a modest season, but has an even more modest First Class and List A record. England believe that Liam Dawson is their best bet for the future and that simply being around the squad will help his development, but he is running out of time to make a breakthrough as the spin cupboard is no longer so bare as it seemed, with the emergence of Leach at Somerset and Mason Crane at Hampshire, both of whom have taken advantage of the new Toss rule producing more spin-friendly surfaces. It is still too early for Crane and Leach has to avoid “second season syndrome”, but it is hard to avoid wondering if they are the future now and not Dawson.

What is alarming in this ODI series and, most likely in the Tests that follow, is the lack of options for England. It is not their fault that they have lost Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson and Liam Plunkett from the squads due to injury and Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan withdrawing for security reasons but, with Joe Root rested too, it is hard to see what changes England can make.

In both matches the top-order batting has failed and the bowling has, at times, struggled to take wickets. James Vince has lost his Test place, but has now been promoted to open with Jason Roy and continues to struggle to convert starts into scores. David Willey was good with the new ball in the 2^nd ODI, but has yet to take a wicket in the two ODIs and was expensive in the warm-up. Moeen Ali was better with the ball in the 2^nd ODI, but was expensive in the 1^st and has just 10 runs and figures of 0-101 in the two matches. In contrast, despite some erratic bowling and taking some punishment, Adil Rashid has managed combined figures of 6-102 and his calm knock of 33* took England close to inducing the sort of panic in the Bangladesh side that lost them the 1^st ODI when it seemed easier to win.

One would hope that Steve Finn will get a game, possibly replacing Willey: it is great to have a #10 with multiple First Class centuries but, if like yesterday, you are depending on him to score runs, it is because the rest of the batting has failed anyway. The bowling attack has had to work hard in tough conditions and some fresh legs will be welcome. The alternative is to promote the exhausted Jake Ball to taking the new ball and to play another spinner (Dawson? Who would be playing only his second ODI, after some rough treatment in his first [2-70]). It would be a risky strategy if Moeen and Adil Rashid are leaking runs. It would also put an even larger load on Jake Ball. What about James Vince? Do England persist with him, or do they go to Plan B and promote Moeen Ali to open [he has already done it in Asia with some success]? Presumably, Sam Billings would come in for Vince.

England took a pragmatic approach for the 2^nd ODI and repeated the same side that had somehow engineered a Houdini-like win in the 1^st but, the problems that were so evident in the first match are still there.

·         Wicket taking

Of the 16 wickets taken by England in the two ODIs, 13 have been taken by Jake Ball and Adil Rashid. In the first ODI Bangladesh were scoring at around 6-an-over in some comfort for the first 25 overs. In the second, from 169-7 and scoring at barely 4-an-over, they were allowed to push a total that should have been only around 200 up to a much more challenging 238.

The momentum, so much with England until then, moved straight back and when a couple of early wickets fell, Bangladesh were unstoppable.

·         The top order. 63-3 in the 13^th over in the 1^st ODI. 26-4 in the 10^th over in the 2^nd ODI.

James Vince is struggling in his role as stand-in for Alex Hales. His place was sealed with a decent 48 in the warm-up (although, again, unable to pass 50), he has followed it with 16 and 5 in a show of decreasing returns. Jason Roy, who has been so devastating in partnership with Alex Hales over the last year, does not look the same player with Vince at the other end. Might the attacking instincts of Moeen Ali not be a better foil? When the two openers fall cheaply, it puts great pressure on the middle order, especially in an ODI when overs are running out and you have to both accelerate and conserve wickets. So far, Jos Buttler has come off both times, but you cannot rely on him and Ben Stokes to rescue the innings in every game.

·         The spinners are being attacked. This can be both good and bad. In the 1^st ODI Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali went for 27 and 26 respectively from their first 4 overs. Adil Rashid took revenge by taking wickets when the batsmen continued to attack, but it is not ideal to see the scoring accelerate suddenly as soon as the spinners come on, even if they can peg it back later, as it means losing any control that the opening attack has given. Particularly in low-scoring matches, the change of momentum can be critical.

With a Test series coming that offers the real possibility of embarrassment ahead of the tour of India, winning this ODI series assumes a much greater importance. England need to take momentum to India. This means making the right calls now and having to be ruthless.