Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

Bangladesh v England, Day 4

Saturday, October 25 2003

Bangladesh resumed on 12-1 with Habibul Bashar facing the fifth ball of Steve Harmison's second over which had been so frustratingly interrupted by floodlight failure the previous evening, and immediately got proceedings going again with an elegant on drive for three. The same batsman may well have had a fortunate escape when Hoggard resumed, a short ball appearing to feather the batsman's gloves on the way through to keeper Chris Read, who strangely remained silent as England sought the early breakthrough.

The first boundary of the morning came courtesy of a lovely drive by Habibul Bashar through extra cover as Hoggard pitched the ball up but found little swing to assist him in the early morning conditions. Harmison went round the wicket to Hannan Sarkar and the batsman defended awkwardly to the resultant short ball aimed at his ribs.

Batty was brought into the attack for the first time and he can consider himself very unlucky, finding the outside edge of Habibul Bashar's bat twice in the over, only to see the ball on each occasion race along the ground to the third man boundary as gradually the home side reduced the first innings deficit.

Ashley Giles replaced Harmison and immediately defeated Hannan Sarkar outside off stump, but by and large the Bangladesh batsmen were having little difficulty in making progress on a wicket which seemed to be holding up very well on the fourth day of a test match.

Successive sweeps by Sarkar off Giles brought up the 50, but when Habibul Bashar tried to repeat the exercise, all it brought was a loud, unsuccessful appeal from the bowler for leg before wicket.

Two superb boundaries by Hannan Sarkar to take him into the twenties, one over midwicket and one past square leg, added further misery to Batty's bowling analysis, and with neither spinner producing much of merit, Vaughan turned to his seamers once more.

The Bangladeshi batsmen seemed for the most part to be fairly comfortable playing against the pacemen for the first time in the match. The pitch seemed to be offering far less variable bounce than before and there was no semblance of any swing in the clear air.

Sarkar and Bashar kept the scoreboard rattling along with a series of flourishing drives, then profited in bizarre circumstances. A ball from Hoggard to Habibul Bashar kept very low, scuttling along the ground and evading the batsman and keeper alike only to strike a discarded helmet for five penalty runs.

As Rikki Clarke bowled to Hannan Sarkar down the leg side, the resultant flick which took Bangladesh into credit with just one wicket down was greeted by huge roars of approval by the burgeoning crowd who seemed to recognise that they just might be witnessing something special.

Harmison was recalled into the attack but his second delivery to Habibul Bashar was there for the drive - and what a drive! Like a bullet, through cover point for an exquisite boundary, the shot of the morning so far. A single by Habibul Bashar took Bangladesh into three figures, then a pull for four off Clarke took the experienced Bashar to his 16th test match half-century.

Giles replaced Harmison who was beginning to show signs of weariness and a very poor over was carted for eight by Hannan Sarkar to take the second wicket partnership beyond 100. Another excellent pull off Clarke brought Habibul Bashar another boundary as the Bangladeshi batsmen continued to draw the teeth of the England attack. With lunch only a moment away, the home side were enjoying a superb morning - and the crowd were loving it!

In the final over before lunch came an unexpected lifeline for England. Batty flighted one up outside Habibul Bashar's off stump, the batsman drove expansively at the ball but only succeeded in edging to Trescothick at slip. The partnership had been worth 108 mightily useful runs, of which Habibul's contribution had been a vital 58. At lunch, Bangladesh were 120-2, a lead of 28.

Hannan Sarkar brought up his half-century in fine style, pouncing on a half-volley from Batty and flashing the ball to the fence at extra cover. In the following over, Harmison steamed in again and dropped short to Alok Kapali who had made 12. The batsman could not resist the carrot but failed to get on top of the ball which sailed high to Butcher at midwicket who made no mistake with the steepling chance to leave Bangladesh on 140-3.

Mushfiqur Rahman got off the mark with a neat flick off his hips as Batty struggled to turn the ball to much effect as the lead moved beyond 50, then Sarkar padded up to a seaming Harmison delivery only marginally outside off stump before whipping two overpitched balls from the same bowler through midwicket past the sprawling Butcher.

Harmison gave way to Hoggard and the Yorkshireman struck immediately, removing Hannan Sarkar with only his second delivery, a widish one which Sarkar (58) played at well away from his body. The resultant edge flew to the safe hands of Trescothick at slip and the Somerset man made no mistake as Bangladesh's fourth wicket fell for 148. England were dragging themselves back into the game either side of lunch.

Khaled Mashud played defensively to Hoggard, only to see the ball squirt off the outside edge all along the ground, between the slips to the third man boundary. At the other end, Rahman threw everything at a wide, flighted delivery from Batty and the ball simply fizzed across the outfield to the extra cover boundary as the home side started to build their innings again.

Rikki Clarke replaced Batty and almost removed Khaled Mashud with his fourth delivery, forcing a thickish edge which fell agonisingly short of gulley. Two balls later, athletic fielding by the bowler had Khaled Mashud scampering to regain his ground following a firmly hit straight drive. Another exceptional over by Clarke, growing in confidence and bringing out one or two of his one-day 'trick' balls, had Khaled Mashud in all sorts of difficulty but the batsman had the last word, flicking the last ball for a couple to fine leg.

Giles, with his best bowling of the tour, was troubling both batsmen with good flight and just a little turn. He was most unfortunate when Khaled Mashud top-edged a sweep for a couple, then padded up to a ball close to off stump as England strove to break the troublesome partnership. Mushfiqur Rahman edged Clarke for two fours through the still vacant third man area which drew huge roars from the crowd and a few choice words between the protagonists.

The impressive Giles struck for the first time with Bangladesh on 176 when Khaled Mashud (7) edged on to his pad. The ball flew sharply to Nasser Hussain at silly point and the former leader took a fine catch with his left hand, diving full length. Javed Omar lost no time in opening his account with a flashing drive off Giles who was looking much happier with life.

A wide half-volley from Giles had Javed Omar climbing all over the delivery, simply smashing it to the cover point boundary as once more Bangladesh sought to re-establish their ascendancy in what was becoming a very tense affair indeed. Clarke continued to toil in the afternoon heat, mixing his deliveries up and conceding very little in a most impressive display yet with no reward.

Mushfiqur Rahman was quick to pounce on a short ball from Giles, cutting neatly past gulley for another boundary as the lead approached 100. With the clock running down towards tea, Michael Vaughan rang the changes, bringing on first Harmison and then Batty after a protracted spell by Clarke. The game at this stage seemed to be drifting towards tea with England content to use up overs before the new ball and Bangladesh to remain entrenched until the interval. Rahman tucked Batty neatly off his hip for a couple to elevate the 200, then another single saw Bangladesh safely in the pavilion on 201-5.

England had whittled away at the Bangladesh middle order, taking three wickets for just 81 in the protracted session to leave the game delicately poised. With the new ball just one over away, the final session of the fourth day promised to hold the key to the entire test match.

Giles bowled the first over after the resumption as the quick men started their warm-up routines, and Javed Omar profited from a leg stump half-volley, clipped in fine style through midwicket for four.

As expected, the 'shiny new cherry' was taken at the earliest opportunity with the partnership worth 30 and the overall lead now 114. Immediately, there was indifferent bounce, the first two balls from Hoggard keeping very low to Mushfiqur Rahman but the batsman was equal to the task.

A wide, slower ball from Harmison was slashed over point by Javed Omar for a couple, then the same batsman had a slice of good fortune when a bouncer struck his periscope-like bat and flew down to fine leg for a single as the runs began to flow with renewed vigour. At this stage, Steve Harmison looked a shadow of the bowler he was earlier in the match, totally drained by the effort as Bangladesh, playing with great confidence, seemed to realise that history was beckoning.

The excellent Matthew Hoggard dragged England back into the contest with a slower ball to the dangerous Javed Omar on 27. The batsman tried to whip the ball square on the on side but was rapped on the pad in front of middle stump. Umpire Asoka De Silva, who up to this point had had a reasonable match, had little hesitation in raising the finger to leave the home side on 219-6, but the disappointed batsman could consider himself very unfortunate as replays indicated that he had edged the ball onto his pads.

After just four overs of his new spell, Steve Harmison trudged forlornly from the field momentarily, forcing Vaughan to thrust Rikki Clarke into the attack, bowling to skipper Khaled Mahmud who finally opened his account with a flick off his hips to fine leg for a single.

Clarke gave way to Giles, bowling around the wicket, and Khaled Mahmud whipped a ball of fullish length through midwicket for a couple as the Bangladesh lead grew to over 140 with 4 wickets in hand at the drinks interval.

A magnificent straight drive by Khaled Mahmud brought him a boundary off Giles, then a huge appeal for leg before failed to convince umpire Aleem Dar who was altogether less conciliatory to the bowlers in comparison to his infamous Sri Lankan counterpart. A weary Hoggard trudged manfully in again, but with the seamers visibly wilting and the spinners largely ineffectual, Vaughan and England had major problems.

Harmison stepped into the breach again, but a sparkling off drive to the cover boundary by Mushfiqur Rahman took him past 40 and the lead beyond 150, putting Bangladesh firmly in the driving seat. A moment later, with the light closing in and despite the floodlights which this evening seemed to be blazing out with gusto, the umpires took the players from the field.

Bangladesh had successfully repulsed England's recovery, placing themselves firmly in the driving seat. England's attack had all but melted away in the evening. The seamers appeared to be totally spent and the idea of playing two spinners on the sub-continent had once again proved to be an ignominious failure owing to the lacklustre performance of the players concerned and their inability to impart sufficient rotation on the ball. A glorious opportunity now beckons for the home side who once again completely outplayed England for most of the day.

Close of play summary

Day 4 Bangladesh 203 all out (Khaled Mahmud 51, Harmison 5-35, Hoggard 3-55)
and 245-6 (Hannan Sarkar 59, Habibul Bashar 58, Mushfiqur Rahman 43*, Khaled Mahmud 17*, Harmison 2-41, Hoggard 2-45)
lead England 295 all out (Trescothick 113, Thorpe 64, Mashrafe Mortaza 3-41, Mohammad Rafique 3-84)
by 153 runs with 4 second wickets standing

Day 3 Bangladesh 203 all out (Khaled Mahmud 51, Harmison 5-35, Hoggard 3-55)
and 12-1 (Hannan Sarkar 4*, Habibul Bashar 0*, Harmison 1-5)
trail England 295 all out (Trescothick 113, Thorpe 64, Mashrafe Mortaza 3-41, Mohammad Rafique 3-84)
by 80 runs with 9 second innings wickets standing
Day 2 England 111-0 (Trescothick 77*, Vaughan 30*) trail Bangladesh 203 all out (Khaled Mashud 51, Harmison 5-35, Hoggard 3-55) by 92 runs with 10 wickets standing
Day 1 Bangladesh 24-2 (Hannan Sarkar 18*, Rajin Saleh 0*, Harmison 2-9)

Posted by Eddie