England v
Bangladesh: 2nd Test, 2nd Day
England on
the Brink of an Embarrassing Defeat
October 29th 2016
There is every possibility that the Test will end
on the 3rd Day, or early on the 4th 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.
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