Bangladesh v England, 2nd Test Day One: Five Things We Learned

A fightback from England with the ball is tempered by top-order failures with the bat. Here’s what we learned from day one in Dhaka…

MAN OF THE DAY - Moeen Ali

No need to address the critics, here. The way Mooen Ali took the game by the scruff of its neck deserves to stand alone, not as an “I told you so moment” but simply as a superb spell of Test-quality spin bowling. “If I’m not bowling maidens, take me off,” was Ali’s message to Alastair Cook when he was handed the ball to break a second-wicket stand that had run England ragged in the opening session. With the first ball of the 42nd over, he followed up a big turning off-spinner with one that slid into the front pad of Tamim Iqbal, who wasn’t playing a shot. And so, the door was cracked ajar and Ali led the charge to ransack the place. Sharp turn was offered off the pitch and Ali ensured he did not waste a delivery, taking his second five-wicket haul and perhaps his most impressive bowling display in Test cricket to date. Improving with every spell, he seems better at reading pitches, which was reflected by the pace he was bowling at, meaning batsmen were unable to appropriately counter the deliveries that skidded on. He has bowled well on this tour and now has something to show for it.

A NEW DYNAMIC DUO

Without James Anderson or Stuart Broad to call on, Alastair Cook’s captaincy was going to be put to the test. Heck, anyone’s would if they had to make do without the expertise of 218 Tests and 823 wickets. The morning’s work suggested Cook was in trouble. However, he was rescued by the allround pair of Ali and Ben Stokes, who combined drift and turn with reverse at pace to combine for five for 31 in the afternoon session. He recognised the contrast in threats offered by both and, when Bangladesh were starting to wane, applied extra pressure with men around the bat. That, ultimately, did for the hosts, who had little to feed off in the 13.3 overs that saw their first innings turned upside down. Just to underline the quality of both Ali and Stokes, they are now two of five post-war England Test players to score at least three hundreds and take two or more five-wicket hauls. Along with Chris Woakes, they ensured Bangladesh’s last nine wickets fell for 49.

CAN I PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK?

Tamim Iqbal against England is as one-sided a bout as there is in the current game. Of his eight career hundreds, three have come against England: the third of which, made today off 139 deliveries, looked like taking the game away from the tourists after just one session. Having lost his opening partner in the third over of the day, he added 170 for the second wicket, at greater than four-an-over, flaying the English attack to all parts of the ground with a great deal of skill and panache (his pull shots in front of square, with the Brian Lara-esque raising of the right foot, was a particular treat). The century came up in style with successive shots over the top of cover taking him. Luckily for England, he upheld a knack of being flaky in three figures, getting out for 104 to make it five out of eight times that he was reached three figures but been dismissed for under 110.

ANSARI’S TOIL

An array of full tosses, some long hops, six overs bowled and 36 runs conceded. No wickets. Somewhere, fellow left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan was watching on, frowning empathetically. It was far from a dream start for Zafar Ansari, who spent most of the build-up to his debut fielding questions on his intelligence and high-brow hobbies. He was up against it from the first over, conceding 13 as an inspired Iqbal gave him a rude introduction to Test cricket. He will take solace from the fact that the two lefties Iqbal and Monimul Haque were in good form, and that bowling to right-handers is more his strength. In the short term, he’ll have the chance to make amends with the bat. He is set to come in at number eight and possesses a solid technique and the patience to bat long, which is what exactly what England need.

WHAT NEXT

If bowling Bangladesh out for 220 buoyed England, then finishing the day 50-3 will have kept them honest. As the Daily Telegraph’s cricket writer Nick Hoult pointed out, 42-3 today is an improvement on the 21-3 and 28-3 of the first Test. At that rate, expect a respectable three-wicket score in the second innings of the fifth Test against India. Still, as we have seen already, there is plenty of batting to come and more than enough to establish a first innings lead. They will need to get greedy: their excellence with the ball means they are batting about 40-overs ahead of schedule and these are the best conditions they will have to score runs in this match.