Show of cool puts the heat on hosts

CRICKET

BEN Stokes came through what he believes were the toughest conditions he has faced at international level with flying colours as he significantly enhanced England’s prospects of victory in the first Test against Bangladesh.

The tourists were floundering on 62 for five and held a lead of only 107 as Bangladesh’s spinners ran through the top order, but Stokes kept his cool in stifling heat and on a pitch that is still offering vast amounts of turn.

He acknowledged that his 85 from 151 balls was his most mature innings – and it was hard to disagree as Stokes proved he can cut it on spin-friendly tracks.

Having earlier finished as the pick of the bowlers with four for 26, Stokes’ 127-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow (47) could go a long way to determining the outcome as England finished day three in the driving seat on 228 for eight and a lead of 273.

Stokes said: “That’s probably the toughest conditions I’ve had in international cricket, especially going in with all the men around the bat and the ball spinning as much as it was.

“It was definitely my most mature performance with the bat. I didn’t want to give my wicket away and I wanted make sure if I was going to get out it was going to take a good ball.

“I tried to put the foot on the gas towards the end to try to get the lead up as high as we possibly could to give us a decent amount of time to bowl them out. But I’m happy with how it went.”

Stokes first came to the fore yesterday morning as his 3-9 off six overs was the catalyst for Bangladesh’s collapse which handed the tourists a 45-run advantage.

Stokes found some reverse swing to pin Mehedi Hasan lbw and bowl last man Kamrul Islam Rabbi – and the Durham all-rounder revealed he has been working specifically on bringing the ball back in.

He said: “I’ve been working on reverse swing, obviously I’m not going to get the new ball. I’ve been practising and when you get it doing that much it’s always going to be tough and we were very careful about making sure we kept the ball in good nick.

“[Joe Root] has been non-stop keeping the smooth side smooth and shiny, and making sure the rough side is as dry as possible.”