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Bangladesh v England, 1st Test Day Two: Five Things We Learned

Bangladesh v England, 1st Test Day Two: Five Things We Learned

England fall just short of 300 as Bangladesh eye a first innings lead. Here’s what we learned from Day Two in Chittagong…

MAN OF THE DAY – TAMIM IQBAL

England must be sick of the sight of Tamim Iqbal. He has passed fifty in seven of his nine innings against them, registering at least one half-century in each Test. What is most interesting is that Tamim’s battles with England have come from 2010 – when their attack was one of the best in the world and their side as a whole were proving themselves worthy of that tag, too. Having started as a dasher, Tamim now takes a steadier approach, perhaps wary that he is now, despite only being 27, the elder in a set-up bulging with young, vibrant talents. He was steady through till tea, bring up his half-century off 131 balls, before looking to motor on before the new ball. With Bangladesh looking to stake their claim for more big games, this refined approach could see him leave a sizeable impact in Bangladesh’s legacy as a Test nation.

MOEEN’S WORTH

At the end of yesterday’s play, Moeen Ali, with an eighth Test half-century under his arm, was asked, for the umpteenth time, whether he sees himself as “a batter who bowls or a bowler who bats”. In his own laid-back manner, he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he waited for just before lunch today to remove Imrul Kayes and Monimul Haque in the space of four balls, with two cracking deliveries, to reiterate his worth to this side. Now, the question put to him the night before was not a dig, nor was it misguided. Ali, enjoying his best year of Test cricket with the bat, has not quite developed as well with the ball. But he does look a more composed spinner and has earned the main spinner’s job outright. It is worth noting that during the ODI series, no one spun the ball more.

DHARMASENA’S FIVE-FOR

When Tamim was on 55, he pressed forward to Moeen Ali. The ball turned and, via a deflection, made its way to first slip, where Joe Root took a brilliant catch. The appeal came and Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger. However, after Tamim reviewed instantly, it was found that the ball had completely missed bat and hit the left-hander’s left arm. The on-field dismissal was overturned meaning Dharmasena has now had five of his decisions overturned by DRS in two days. For an elite panel umpire, who has also previous been awarded ICC’s umpire of the year, that is quite the blemish.

JUNE 4, 2005

On this day, at Chester-le-Street, Gareth Batty took what he and many others in recent times thought would be his last Test wicket. It was Mohammed Ashraful (caught Hoggard) – his only victim in 15 second-innings overs in which he did not do enough to warrant a sniff of the Ashes series later that year. Today, after more than 11 years, Batty took his 12th Test wicket. It was a big on, too: Tamim, motoring, hurried into a shot and edging behind to Jonny Bairstow. It was a fine piece of bowling too, as Batty fed the left-hander onto the back foot and then fizzed one in, quicker and fuller. It was a nice moment for a player who is undoubtedly a better spinner now than he was then. A lesson to us all – it’s never too late…

WHAT NEXT

While day two has not moved along at the same rate as day one – Bangladesh batting for the majority of today will have contributed to that – you still get the feeling, given the fallibility of both sides, that a collapse is always around the corner. England, while wayward with the ball, especially when it was in the hands of the spinners, did well to plug away through till the end and were rewarded with the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim, caught behind off Ben Stokes. They will need more of the same tomorrow morning to ensure that Bangladesh’s lead is minimal. Anything over 50 might as well be game over.