Bangladesh V England, 2nd test, Mirpur, 20 March - 24 March

JKLever wrote:I've just started the 3rd series. It's utter bilge but I find myself having to watch.

I don't even know what series the current one is. Four?

But I suspect it's going to be the last. Fell to pieces after one season and hasn't recovered in the slightest.

I mean, it is watchable. Just not in a "this is good" kind of way. More a "this is on" way.

From Cricinfo...

Graeme Swann toils hard, Dhaka, March 18, 2010
Heavy workload: Graeme Swann will face more long spells in the second Test if England stick with a four-man attack Associated Press
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Alastair Cook is preparing to stick with the same balance of seven batsmen and four bowlers that carried his side to a comfortable, if somewhat laboured, 181-run victory in the first Test at Chittagong, as he aims to hand the England captaincy back to Andrew Strauss with a 100% record from his first tour in charge.

So Cook, who supposedly had a tidy, level-headed debut as captain, is now attempting to dislodge all that by maintaining that a four-bowler attack will be able to do the same thing again in Dhaka?

Looks like no-one will be dropped after all. FFS.

Link

Did you expect any different? They won. That means that they're set for three months.

Ridiculous, isn't it.

Yeah, when they get into a certain pattern they're the most stubborn of teams to change it. They see a win as vindication of their decisions, even if it's taken something special to make it happen. They rely on that being the norm. Which is pathetic.

Maybe they just want to do a Bailey and cling on for the draw and series win by their barnacle fingernails.

Brass Monkey wrote:Yeah, when they get into a certain pattern they're the most stubborn of teams to change it. They see a win as vindication of their decisions, even if it's taken something special to make it happen. They rely on that being the norm. Which is pathetic.

Well at least it means Ian Bell cant cement in the no.3 position with a minnow bashing 200. Small mercies n'all that...

You're right. I think said stubbornness has meant the scenario you've mentioned... they simply won't play him at three. They know he is weak, but also know he can do damage with his fluency when coming up against tired bowlers at number 6.

Carberry left out for Tredwell, Trott up to open.

Bresnan really is ordinary.

That's disappointing. Tamim out caught by Prior off Tredwell when he was looking a big chance off making a century before lunch on the first day off a test.

22.1


Tredwell to Tamim Iqbal, OUT, 88.2 kph, Tamim falls! And Tredwell picks up his first wicket in Test cricket. The ball was flighted on middle and Tamim went for the sweep, but was beaten in the flight and the ball appeared to strike the glove and the forearm and loop up gently onto the leg side, where Prior ran round and dived to take the catch. Relief for England!


Tamim Iqbal c †Prior b Tredwell 85 (71b 13x4 1x6) SR: 119.71

Bangers 2/119 off 23 overs

.

Good effort by Tamim, but Bangers now fading. 3-fer

Jahural Islam given out to an extremely dubious LBW on debut.


It's tough being a Banger with all these cheating umpires around. They have to cop this sort of crap all the time.

BD will prolly get 300, Eng 600. End of.

Tamim, Shakib, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur.

Makings of a decent batting lineup there for the Bangers.

Cook is an even more negative captain than Strauss.

Checked my phone at like 4am, saw Bangladesh were 100/1.


Checked back just now, 289/6. What happened?

Also, England take one step forward (introducing a fifth bowler), and one step back - being pally with players again and dropping Carberry.

301/7.


Big Brezz spoils the Bangles last attempt at making atleast 350.

Swann gets a wicket with his first over of a spell yet again.

Oh he's goddim. Yesthat'sitallover.


Swanny gets Razzak who was playing with footed cement.

DJ_Smerk wrote:
Swanny gets Razzak who was playing with footed cement.

Er?

DJ_Smerk wrote:Also, England take one step forward (introducing a fifth bowler), and one step back - being pally with players again and dropping Carberry.

Yeah, very disappointed at that - it may be "only" Bangladesh and it's the right decision to go with another bowler, but you have to play two specialist openers in Test cricket. I even favour picking three if you don't have a top specialist number 3. One of the positives of Strauss's absence was the opportunity to get another opener into the picture at last and provide some cover and competition for Strauss and Cook, instead they've dropped him after one game and gone with a makeshift opener instead. Trott or Bell should have made way for the extra bowler.

8-330 in a day is a good effort by Banger standards. They'll prolly get smashed from here but every little step helps them towards moving from minnow to decent competition.

The wicket is one of the flattest of all time but yeah, they haven't embarassed themselves.

Reasonable effort from the bangers. Cook has been quite defensive, though. Tredwell and Bresnan will only ever be honest triers so why we took them on a tour like this and left the likes of Rashid etc at home is beyond me.