Cricket Tournaments

After the world cup win, this was apparently the high-profile series every-one was waiting for. India with the #1 status defending their ranking to the #3 ranked England, was one of the most anticipated series at the moment. And what an occasion to begin with. This being the 2000^th test overall, 100^th test between India and England and the venue being, LORD’S the Mecca of cricket.

As the first day began, the Lord’s had overcast. An excellent start to the game, as the pitch looked like a bowler friendly one. Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar’s sheer swing disturbed the batsmen, especially since Andrew Strauss is known to throw away his wicket against left arm seamers. Soon enough, Zaheer Khan provided India with a strike as Alastair Cook couldn’t go beyond the single digit mark. Soon Andrew Strauss departed too. Though, Zaheer soon had to walk out of the field because of a muscle pull and India were left with 3 bowlers. A struggling Pieterson trying to find his run-making ability couldn’t score as well as he normally does.

Though, India missed out on a lot of opportunities. Sharma missed out on an opportunity to run out Strauss when he was on 2. While Dravid missed out on a catch of Trott. A partly-blind sighted Dravid again missed out on an easy catch of Trott again at 1^st slip off Zaheer Khan’s beautiful out-swinger.

With day over with just 49 overs played, England were left at 127/2 with Pieterson struggling and Trott scoring an outstanding half-century. Apart from the fact that Indians could have fared way better than this as the ball swung because of the overcastting skies.

As the day passed, England were already at the crease and rearing to go.  Almost 3 years, a big match difficult conditions and that’s all he wanted to score a century at Lord’s and his third double century. Though it was his slowest double century, but it was a century made with sheer temperament and exceptionally well played. An innings built and played against all the odds that were standing tall against him.

With the Indian pace attack already paralyzed because of Zaheer’s injury, Praveen Kumar showed India the way. Exceptional bowling, he tried everything in his book to restrict them but with no support from either bowlers. Except for the fact that, Bhajji didn’t bowl badly. Praveen Kumar had an excellent start to his test career, picking up 5 wickets at the Mecca of cricket. As people say, if god has taken something from you, he will give it back to you in a better way. A dejected Praveen Kumar was left out of the World cup squad because of an injury, but he has made an impressive comeback with his first few matches in test cricket. His double blows at regular intervals did disrupt England’s batting for a while but Pieterson continued forming partnerships with Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Greame Swann. As Pieterson neared his double century, the original Pieterson was back leaving away his shadow as he attacked and how! The last 30 runs was a mere waste of effort by all the bowlers he was scoring against. Atlast they declared at 474/8, the crowd applauding for a superb double century and Praveen Kumar and Pieterson acknowledging each other’s excellent offers. Indian openers on the other hand tried and survived on the second day of the match at 17/0.

But the highlight of the day couldn’t be missed. The ball in the hand of M.S.Dhoni, Indian captain and wicketkeeper and the gloves in the hands of Rahul Dravid. But what amuses me is the fact that he almost got Pieterson out twice in the 8 overs he bowled. Once, Billy Bowden even judged him out, but UDRS just helped him out. But did Dhoni have an option? He sure did, 3 strike bowlers whom he had to rotate all the time, Raina and Sachin as part time bowlers who could be driven all around the ground. Being a gambler, he tried his luck out too, and trust me he was accurate.

As day 3 started, India were expected to score heavily with the kind of batting line-up they have. With Gambhir walking the path to pavilion early, India already looked in distress. Mukund made a fine 49, but wasn’t enough and got out as Broad bowled a full length delivery. And the most awaited person entered and was given a standing ovation by the entire crowd. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, who was the most awaited person in Lord’s at that point of time, a person who has ever scored the century at the Mecca of cricket, ad what an occasion if he would have scored his 100^th international century here in Lord’s. After making an impressive, he started struggling against Tremlett and atlast got an edge against Broad and the anticipation was over. Disappointed, he walked back to the pavilion.

A much hyped Sachin Tendulkar day was however taken over by Rahul Dravid’s sheer temperament. Rahul Dravid took the opportunity and scored a fine century without certainly an almost no-support as even M.S.Dhoni fell for 28 just to follow Laxman and Raina. En route, he even became the 2^nd highest run-getter behind Sachin as he ran past Ponting. The great wall of India again proved why is he called one of the best in business. With India all out for 286 they already had a lead of around 188 runs which showed a clear advantage towards the English side. As the day ended, England were 5/0.

4^th day started and England were on top of the game. A quick wicket of Alastair Cook ad the day looked good for India. A quite partnership and here goes the wicket. An excellent spell by Ishant Sharma and England were already 107/6. But, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad played an excellent part and they just grew stronger. Scoring 103* and 74* respectively, they got England back into the game. Declaring at 269/6, England were back at the top.

India’s innings started and they were back to nowhere. With Gambhir injured because of shot played by Matt Prior which hit him on the upper part of elbow and Sachin Tendulkar ill, India were even more paralyzed. With Mukund’s wicket it looked like India were out of contention and even a draw looked far away from there. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who had to shift to no.2 and no.3 positions respectively, still hung out in the middle ad saved India from the embarrassment. At 34* and 32* they look to play their parts perfectly to get India on track to win the game. One being the centurion in the previous inning while the other being the second inning man and has been an ultimate savior for India in last few years. If they hang around with Gambhir, Tendulkar to follow if they fit, they have the perfect recipe for a draw if not win.

India - England

India’s tour to West Indies has already kick-started with a win over them each in ODI’s and the T-20 formats. With youngsters giving a chance to prove their mettle in tests as well since the senior players have been given some rest, people are looking forward to the positives coming out of this series as this will prove how strong is India’s bench strength. However, this series hasn’t been the talking point which surprises me quite a lot as India- West Indies rivalry has been phenomenal as years have passed on, though it has lost its touch in the last decade or so.

With India touring England in the month of July this year, the focus has completely shifted on to them. With India playing overseas after a long time, it has to be a tough one to go past. Ganguly said,” India will win in West Indies, but England will be tough”. This looks quite true with the fact that England has been playing phenomenal cricket around and have been going great guns. Retaining Ashes cup at away and defeating Australia at their home ground is no sort of joke. Though their ranking in ODIs is quite higher when compared to their performances but when it comes to tests they’re just looking for a chance to throttle India from the top spot. And when you have the opportunity to defeat India in their own den with flurrying bouncers and swing that takes away the game from the Indian counterparts.

But what makes England a serious competitor to the #1 ranking which India has earned so deservedly. These players are certainly to be credited.

Alastair Cook

Averaging 48 in his test cricket, he gives England a perfect start what a team actually needs. But what has been exceptional, is the way he has come up and shown what he means to his team. He was the main reason to why England retained the Ashes trophy. A run machine for England, he scored 766 runs in 5 tests he played with an exceptional average of over 120. With 3 centuries, 1 double century and 3 more half-centuries he had a splendid series. And that happened in just about 7 innings in which he played. Even in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, he has already notched 335 runs in just 3 innings. Being in blazing form, he is the torch-bearer for England at the moment and certainly the man to watch out for.

Jonathan Trott

An exceptional player, playing just 19 tests has already notched 6 international hundreds which includes 2 double hundreds already. A prolific batsman, he has been in tremendous form this year, winning the cricketer of the year award for England. In the Ashes series tour he was next only to Alastair Cook and Michael Hussey for the number of runs he has scored. An exceptional double hundred in the 1^st test he played against Sri Lanka in the ongoing test series, was an example of his unbreakable defense. Always on the lookout for runs, he is going to be tough one to breakthrough.

Greame Swann

Been considered to become the best off-spinner, he certainly has got the talent to be one. With a career 135 wickets and a splendid economy rate of 2.9, he has always kept on the batsmen and never let him score runs. He always keeps the batsmen in defense and keeps him thinking all the time. The batsman ultimately succumbs to the batsmen and gives away his wicket. Making a debut in 2000 for an ODI, he was called back in 2007 and ultimately cemented his place in the team. Playing his spin is difficult, and with India touring to England in July, it’s going to be a strong but healthy rivalry between the best off-spinners in the world at the moment, Swann and Harbhajan Singh.

James Anderson

The spearhead of the England pace attack, he has been phenomenal this season. With 24 wickets in the Ashes series, he dismantled the Australian batting line up with sheer pace and his swinging ability. An experienced bowler, he is one of the best pacers in the world today along with Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and Brett Lee. Though injured at the moment, it’s highly likely that he would recover before India’s tour and would get the perfect rest before such a high-profile series which would decide to who actually deserves the #1 ranking. Pace and swing is all that he’s got, and with the England pitches he wouldn’t need anything more except the experience and intelligence which he’s god-gifted.

Apart from these players, there are many more players who have been in exceptional form. Just the fact, that these players have taken away the limelight from the other players. Andrew Strauss along with Ian Bell and Matt Prior also has notched up some outstanding performances. Ian Bell especially has been consistently performing. Kevin Pieterson, though injured for the moment he has been well impressive for England in a couple of matches himself.  Even in the bowling department, Chris Tremlett has been phenomenal. Picking up 17 wickets in the Ashes tour and demolishing the Sri Lankan side along with Swann to win the test match which was always looking for a draw, he has given England a bowler to support Anderson.

A tough time ahead, India is not going to take this series lightly. M.S.Dhoni, the calmest ever captain the cricketing world would have ever seen, might know it better but it all falls down to square one. Defending the number 1 spot against a team like England is going to be tough. Laxman said,”I never got a 100 in England. Hopefully, it would be very special if I get a 100 at Lord’s and India wins the match,” Preparation has to be tough and I don’t think India will falter at this point atleast. A rivalry to watch out for, India-England has always been exceptional to watch. Right from early days, to taking out shirt incident by Andrew Flintoff and Ganguly mocking the same one, to Yuvraj Singh hitting Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in an over. There might be many more moments which I wouldn’t have been even aware about.

A tough schedule ahead, India-England is going to be an interesting tie to watch.

Pakistan Cricket Team

Amidst the entire hullabaloo over the spot-fixing episodes, and allegations and counter-allegations flying left, right and centre, the ODI series between the tainted Pakistan and England seems like a completely futile experiment. And, and if to add to the woes, the ODIs itself are being investigated by the ICC. To make matters worse, Ijaz Butt has come out with unproven allegations against the England team, plus there has been a spat between Wahab Riaz and Jonathan Trott.

Every that could have possibly gone wrong has taken place in the last few weeks between England and Pakistan. Yet, the series has continued for some inexplicable reasons, even after the players themselves have publicly acknowledged that they would be relieved once the series gets over. And when the result of a tournament doesn’t matter, there’s something horribly wrong which has to be set correct.

Also, this isn’t the time to malign the already under-fire game. The media, the ICC as well as the players, past and present, must not come out with ‘sensational’ revelations just to be in the news or settle personal scores. For true lovers of the sport, this is the time to come out and support the game, i.e. if they believe that only a handful of them are among the culprits.

The timing of the controversy is ironically not ‘spot on’, what with just under 150 days left for the World Cup to get underway. But then, it must be seen as a bit of good that this happened before the mega tournament and not too close to it. What the ICC anti-corruption unit as well as the PCB should do now is to swing into action and work at a rather rapid pace. They do not have much time on hand to reduce the damage done to cricket. And since this is not the first time that match-fixing has reared its ugly head, the punishment for the guilty should be stringent.

One might say that if some like Mohammad Amir is found guilty, he should be let off with a severe warning considering he is still in his impressionable years. However, that might set a wrong precedent for the coming generations and so be it Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif or Amir or anyone else from any other country proved culpable of the crime has to be shown the door; this needs to be done to reduce the damage done to the name of the game. It might still not be enough though, and a lot more efforts are needed to get the game back on track.

First things first, the boards of each respective teams need to make sure that the player representing the country has a clean chit as far as such illegal acts are concerned. Also, they must be sure that he is worthy of playing for the country and also that his chances of getting involved in filthy deeds are minimal. Sounds irrational. However considering the current scenario, it is important that players are given some sort of a ‘character certificate’ before donning national colours.

There is not much the ICC can do except trying their best to curb corruption. After all, the betting mafia is so widespread. The problem thus needs to be dealt with at the grassroot levels.

Andrew Strauss

England’s victory in the second ODI against Pakistan lifted them to the No.2 spot in the one-day international ranking. Whether they stay up for there for long is another matter altogether, but for a team considered as perennial underachievers, this is quite a high. Having said that their steady climb shouldn’t surprise any cricket loyalist since this team had left behind the baggage of the 90s — when they were publicly mortified time and again for underperforming — and renewed itself in recent times. With West Indies showing no signs of improvement and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe still languishing at the bottom of the pool, England’s resurgence should see a rise in the number of competitive games.

The most significant change for the English side has come at the top of the pecking order. With two wise men as captain and coach in the form of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, the team is in safe hands for a start. And so the turbulent phase that preceded it during the Pietersen-Moores era must be viewed as a blessing in disguise. Both Andrew and Andy are no-nonsense men, a quality evident in their approach to the game, which is slowly but surely gripping the other members of the side as well.

Things haven’t come easy for either Strauss or Flower, which is all the more reason why they are so resolute to their cause. Till a couple of seasons back the England skipper was unsure of his place in the squad. But, he has risen like a Phoenix from the Ashes and now commands the respect of most. Until very recently, the left-hander’s slot in the ODI side too was under question. There were doubts as to whether he would indeed be a part of the World Cup squad. However, Strauss has more than answered his critics, with two match-winning hundreds in three games. His play may not be ideally suited to the shorter format, but the improvements he has made in his game have been proficient.

On the other hand, Flower would have been desperate for something competitive following his county stint, which wouldn’t have presented him with much of a challenge as compared to his international experience. As so, ever since taking over the reigns of England coach, he has looked every inch the proper man for the task. What further binds Strauss and Flower is the fact that they have similar approaches, both to the game and as individuals – that of keeping it basic and simple. And this work ethic has been rewarded by some memorable victories in recent times.

Also unlike Pietersen, Strauss isn’t a charismatic figure and so the others also get their fair share of limelight. This is not to say that the former was a bad captain. However, things can work both ways. In England’s, they needed a steady hand to guide them and, other than Paul Collingwood, he was the best man for the job. Pietersen could lead from the front, but his flamboyance was fraught with risks, which has culminated in him being left out of the side.

Even as the Strauss-Flower partnership has had a major hand in the resurgence of England, there have been a number of others who have played their part too – be it Eoin Morgan as the finisher in the middle, James Anderson as the strike bowler or Jonathan Trott as the calming influence at the top. On current form, this bunch of united men led by Strauss-Flower seems destined for great things. Of course, their biggest test is yet to come – The Ashes. Until then, let them enjoy the winning feeling.

The result of the two-Test series between England and Bangladesh was least surprising, with the home side overcoming a stubborn challenge from the least-pedigreed Asian Test team.

However, while the 2-0 scoreline seems impressive, it doesn’t reflect the underlying story, that of England’s struggles in between moments of domination. That Tamim Iqbal managed to register hundreds in both the Tests tells a tale in itself.

At the same time, England fought back well against the rest, and came out of the series with their reputation in tact. Still, keeping the next Ashes in mind, it is very much clear now that England have plenty to work on before taking on the Aussie challenge.

First and foremost, the English bowlers needed the help of murky conditions to unsettle the Bangladesh batting line-up. This has to be a major cause of worry for Andrew Strauss and co.

It is a given that Bangladesh’s batting is among the weakest in Test cricket. Despite this, there were a number of occasions when England just had no answer to Bangladesh’s onslaught, when they went on the offensive. On the contrary, they just sat back and let the drama unfold. Iqbal’s innings in the first Test left a scathing impact on the Englishmen. He batted with supremely authority in both Test.

It was only when the sun hid behind the clouds that their fortunes changed, and the wickets started tumbling. Suddenly, Steven Finn became unplayable, and James Anderson joined him in the second Test.

While it was great for England that they captured 20 wickets in consecutive days in the concluding Test of the series, it is also a fact that they wouldn’t be greeted by any such helpful conditions in Australia. And, that is when the true worth of Finn and Anderson will be tested.

The series also gave England a chance to test a couple of their other fringe players, and see how ready they are for the five-day game. Both Ajmal Shahzad and Eoin Morgan, who was a surprise selection considering his unorthodox game, did reasonably well.

Also, Jonathan Trott’s double hundred was a memorable effort. Of late, the batsman has been in the news for some wrong reasons, and it was good for English cricket that he silenced some murmurs with the bat.

England need him to be among the runs as, in his short international stint, he has shown the maturity of a proper Test cricketer, on more than one occasion. It also helped that skipper Andrew Strauss and the rest got among the runs. And, with Graeme Swann too returning to his wicket-taking ways, England had further cause to celebrate.

At the end of the day, though, one needs to keep in mind that this was Bangladesh, and so their performances can only be viewed as tiny indicators of their capability. It is all the more important that this same yardstick is applied to Finn.

One shouldn’t put too much pressure on the tall fast-bowler so early, hailing him as a prospective Ashes hero. After all, he is yet to achieve anything substantial against a decent side yet. It is the series against Pakistan in late July that will give us all a better idea of what to expect from England and co in the near future.

England celebrates their win

The second Test at Manchester promised to provide great entertainment after the outcome of the first Test at Lords. England was expected to win, and they did. However, the victory was very tricky for England as it had to overcome some very solid batting by Bangladesh in both the innings.

Hence, this test was a good chance for England to show that they were the same dangerous side which won the Ashes last summer at home, and would go on to defend it in Australia this year.

Under sunny conditions, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow pitch. Strauss and his opening partner, Alastair Cook gave England a good start. Cook was not amongst the runs, after his exploits as captain in Bangladesh in March.

He looked settled, until Strauss got out to a good delivery by the young Shaiful Islam, giving a regulation catch to a waiting Imrul Kayes at third slip. The score was 44/1 when the double-centurion of the last Test, Jonathan Trott came out to bat. However, it wasn’t long until Shaiful came up with another peach of a delivery which angled into Trott and bowled him comprehensively.

Why wasn’t Shaiful picked for the Lords Test? This must have been the question in every Bangladeshi fan’s mind, after the wicket of Trott. Kevin Pietersen, at No.4, joined Cook. Both of them wanted to build a huge partnership, but were prevented from doing so thanks to Cook falling to spinner Abdur Razzak, off his very first ball of the series.

At lunch, England was tottering at 92/3 with wickets belonging to the two changes that Shakib al Hasan had brought into the team for the Test. Could this session have an impact on the course of the match? It didn’t prove to be, as England showed that winning a session doesn’t necessarily mean that a team has the momentum to do well later in a Test match.

Kevin Pietersen was batting like a free bird, especially attacking the left-arm spinners. He scored 64 runs off just 81 balls, until it was Shakib al Hasan who got him out again!

A very rash shot ended Pietersen’s innings and England were in a Catch-22 situation at 153/4 when the 1-Test old Eoin Morgan came out to bat. It was a good opportunity for him to prove his worth as a Test player.

Morgan took the responsibility to attack, while Bell was quietly at the other end scoring runs by taking the ones and twos time and again. At tea, Bell reached his fifty and he looked to score a lot more.

Morgan was dismissed by an erratic Shahadat Hossain, giving him his first wicket of the match. However, that didn’t stop Bell as he had an able partner in Matt Prior. The duo batted right till the end of the first day putting England in a much better position at 275/5 in 83 overs.

One of the highlights of the second day was Ian Bell reaching a well-deserved hundred. Prior also made a half-century, which was crucial for England to build a challenging first-innings total. However, England suffered a setback with the wicket of Bell, leaving England at 399/7 at lunch.

The last three wickets fell quickly as England were bowled out for 416, just after lunch. The Bangladeshi skipper ended once again as his team’s best bowler with figures of 5/121 in 37.3 overs which included four maidens. Shakib al Hasan’s proved that the Old Trafford was a spinner’s paradise.

In 2006, Muttiah Muralitharan took 10 wickets in the match to lead Sri Lanka to a win against England. In 2008, Daniel Vettori picked five wickets in the first innings, although England went on to win. So it was a good sign for spinners to have a good game altogether.

Tamim Iqbal in my book, is definitely a prime candidate for winning the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year award this year. And his 108 runs off just 114 balls is justification of my belief. A strike rate of 94.73 only goes to show the mess that he got England into, and what a Sehwag-like impact he can make.

He is proving to be an asset for Bangladesh and his growing maturity was shown even as wickets fell at the other end, with Swann doing good business with the old ball.

The next highest score was 36, by his opening partner Imrul Kayes! Bangladesh were cruising at 126/0, until it was time to watch the Swann show. Quick wickets of Junaid Siddique and Jahurul Islam alongwith Anderson picking Tamim Iqbal reduced Bangladesh to a treacherous 169/4, when Shakib joined Mohammad Ashraful at the crease.

Bangladesh’s two best batsmen also struggled as Shakib fell to Swann’s brilliant flighted delivery outside the off-stump, giving Swann his fourth wicket of the match. Ashraful became the young Ajmal Shahzad’s first Test victim, leaving Bangladesh at 200/6.

From here on, there is nothing much for Bangladeshi fans to even watch, let alone rejoice. Swann ended the Bangladeshi innings in style, with a five-wicket haul as Bangladesh was all out for 216 at the end of the second days play.

It was proved that Swann is extremely effective on a turning track as he went wicketless on a much grassier Lords surface. So Swann would have to improve a lot as Australia isn’t too far away. He needs to recreate the magic that he had displayed in South Africa, if England has to do well to retain the Ashes and rise in the ICC Test rankings.

However, the match was not over by any means even as the end was hasty. Bangladesh was trailing by 203 runs in the first innings, very similar to the situation they were in at Lords.

Strauss had no hesitation in asking Bangladesh to bat again. It was a good chance for Bangladesh to bat better as they would be rejuvenated enough after a demoralizing second day.

However, England’s bowlers were much fresher than Bangladesh’s batsmen because cloudy skies dominated the start of the third day’s play. England took full advantage of the poor weather conditions as they showed that they are very much the dangerous home team that they traditionally have been.

Bangladesh’s second innings was dominated by the English pace duo of James Anderson and Steven Finn. Tamim Iqbal, who had so far scored 266 runs in 3 innings in the series so far, fell of the second ball of the innings to a short-pitched ball from Anderson. Anderson was at his best, as he picked Iqbal both the times in the match.

It didn’t take long for Kayes, Siddique and Jahurul Islam to fall as Bangladesh were left reeling at 21/4 in 8 overs only. Ashraful tried to put up a fight but was dismissed on 14, giving Anderson his third wicket of the innings. The other formalities were completed by the rest of the crop, especially Finn who picked up another five-wicket haul in the series.

Mahmudullah delayed the inevitable by scoring a sedate 38, but these individual performances haven’t allowed Bangladesh to play as a team. And the result was a loss to Bangladesh by an innings and 80 runs. It just took one session for Bangladesh to be bowled out on Day 3.

Shakib al Hasan had every right to be disappointed with the batting, which failed miserably in swinging conditions. The team could be consoled with Tamim Iqbal’s performances which won him the man of the series award. Andrew Strauss was a happier man and rated this victory a lot higher than that at Lords, for obvious reasons.

England have also benefited with Steven Finn sharing the man-of-the-series award with Iqbal for picking 15 wickets in the series. It is good to see Finn coming off age and he could be the next Harmison for England, with the build that he has. However there are still concerns for the team. They need to enhance their game in such a way that they are unbeatable.

Under cloudy skies, England are unbeatable but in sunny conditions, the same cannot be said. Australia would have hard, bouncy pitches and sunny conditions.

The bowling, in particular has to be worked upon as if Bangladesh can win sessions easily, why can’t teams like Australia do so? And if the immediate future is concerned, why can’t a new-look Pakistan team look to win a Test series in England for the first time since 1992?

Post achieving Test status over a decade back, there has been a significant improvement in Bangladesh’s cricket. However, following yet another Test defeat, the latest against England at Lord’s, one is forced to believe that they still have miles to go before being seen as a force to reckon with at an international level.

The major issue with Bangladesh’s cricket has been their inept bowling, which was exposed once again. While the spinners can come in handy on home pitches, the bowling doesn’t really make much of an impression when they go abroad.

And, this one area the Asian minnows would really have to work hard upon in the years to come, if they aim to be consistent in the longer version of the game. In both the innings at Lord’s, the English batsmen looked in no trouble at all, and eventually romped home to victory, which should worry Bangladesh no end.

Of course, when a side amasses 700 plus, they must have played some exceptional cricket. Jonathan Trott’s double hundred was a classic Test match innings, and the Bangladesh batsmen can learn a lot from his knock.

In contrast, Andrew Strauss’ trouble-free half-century in the second innings only reaffirmed what the opposition’s weak link was.

Bangladesh’s bowling effort stuck out like a sore thumb more so since their batting was equally praiseworthy. Tamim Iqbal, in particular, registered an outstanding century, which clearly frustrated the English bowlers.

There were moments when Iqbal looked in total command of the innings and literally toyed with a bowling, which was more than decent by international standards. Again, like their bowling, Bangladesh have plenty of scope for improvement in their batting.

When the conditions were bright and sunny, Bangladesh’s batsmen were on top, but when the sun hid behind the clouds they were miserable, which was primarily responsible for their loss. Their batsmen thus need to be physically as well as mentally tough to cope with varying situations.

Despite the impressive eight-wicket victory margin, England also had their share of troubles amidst the glory, not least of was their inability of make an impression on the batsmen when there wasn’t must assistance from the pitch. If they can be torn apart by an average side like Bangladesh, imagine the havoc that Australia can cause on batsman-friendly pitches.

This should be a strong cause of worry for Andrew Strauss and his men as they head into the second Test. The think-tank of Andy Flower and co need to sit down and analyze how they can improve on this aspect in the coming games.

Graeme Swann had an off game, failing to pick up a single wicket. But, one shouldn’t read too much into it as there was hardly anything on offer for the spinners, as the pacers made merry.

Among the positives for the home team, there were quite a few, expectedly considering the opposition was Bangladesh. Even so, Steven Finn’s nine-wicket effort on debut has to rated as a top-notch performance.

Demonstrating a Glenn McGrath-like accuracy in his first Test, Finn was unplayable under cloudy conditions, an effort reminiscent of Graham Onions during his debut last year.

While he was lethal under helpful conditions, his real test would come when the circumstances get tougher, and there isn’t enough on offer from the surface. For now though, he can enjoy his moment in the sun whilst preparing for the bigger battles ahead.

England would undoubtedly take the momentum from the win into the second Test. And, while Bangladesh can pat themselves on the back for putting up a tough fight, sooner or later, they need to realize that the transition from being brave losers to becoming competitive to the extent of winning needs to take place soon.

Else, the frustration levels of not only the cricketers, but those of the country’s fans, as well as the ICC will be tested.