After perilous beginnings, England fight back to restore balance to first Test
A regular feature of any England cricket fan’s life is that moment on a chilly autumn or winter morning when you wake up, reach groggily for the radio, discover England have won the toss – and are already 23-3. Plus ça change and all that.
From such a perilous beginning in the first test against Bangladesh, England did well to rebuild. Joe Root
showed the virtues of decisive footwork, while Moeen Ali highlighted the virtues of DRS – three times he successfully reviewed on field lbw decisions by umpire Dharmasena, while Bangladesh twice failed to overturn initial ‘not out’ verdicts. At the end of day one, with England closing on 258-7, the match remained in the balance.
Much will be made of the decision to partner Alastair Cook with Ben Duckett instead of the young Lancastrian Haseeb Hameed. It is difficult to imagine Bangladesh being so cautious about throwing a teenager in at the deep end. The knock-on effect was that Gary Ballance came in at number 4, only to fall lbw to impressive debutant Mehedi Hasan for 1. Ballance hardly felt like a shoo-in for the touring squad, let alone England’s first XI: he had a modest summer series against Pakistan and hardly set Yorkshire’s season alight either. Another failure in this match could be the end for him – and in truth, putting Hameed alongside Cook, with Duckett in the middle-order, makes more sense in the long run.
Captain Rahim's gamble pays off as Mahedi dazzles in opening day
Not so long ago it felt as if traditional finger-spinners had no place at cricket’s top table. Leg-spinners were more likely match-winners and offies without a doosra were like dial-up in a world of wifi. Graeme Swann, among one or two others, helped to change both perception and reality.
Bangladesh’s off-spinner Mahedi is only eighteen but in his debut test he put in a remarkable performance, taking five high-class wickets and bowling some unplayable deliveries. He varied his pace, spun the ball hard and defeated batsmen in the flight as well as off the pitch. Not even DRS could save Moeen Ali from Mahedi’s brilliance in the end.
What was even more impressive was that Mahedi had been given the responsibility of opening the bowling – understandable perhaps on a pitch which was always likely to turn, but still a daring move by skipper
Mushfiqur Rahim when there were other, more experienced spinners available. Indeed, bowling with a brand new ball can be difficult for a spin bowler. The seam is likely to grip the pitch harder than when the ball is old, but it can feel alien and uncomfortable in hands which are used to a ball which has been pounded into the turf by hefty seamers for several overs. Mahedi’s control was spot on from the beginning, and with barely a mystery ball in sight.
England's women confirm the female game is on the up
While England’s men were sweating in Chittagong, the women could relax a little after completing a decisive win in their five match ODI series against the West Indies.
In a compelling sequence of games, the pendulum swung from one side to the other, before England came out on top at Sabina Park on Wednesday. Left-arm spinner Alex Hartley, in her first full series, was a star with 13 wickets across five matches, while all of the top six bar Georgia Elwiss scored important runs at one time or another.
It has been confirmed that women and men will receive equal treatment at next summer’s World Cup in England – all travelling business class, staying in decent hotels (rather than student accommodation as the women did in 1993) and getting the same daily allowance. And quite right too: the women’s game is on the up and its top players should be treated accordingly.
Aussie bickering benefits no-one
While the current Australia side have forgotten how to win, at least they are functioning as a team. Former stars appear to have given up all pretence of unity, with Michael Clarke and Shane Watson trading insults following the release of Clarke’s autobiography.
The two were never exactly bosom buddies and ‘Pup’s’ decision to set out his account of what happened during the infamous ‘homework’ tour to India in 2013 hasn’t gone down well with his old teammate. According to Clarke, Watson and others were “like a tumour” on the team during that period; Watson says it tells the world more about his former captain that he should feel the need to bring the matter up three years later.
Cricket Australia has enough to worry about just now. It must wish these two famous owners of the Baggy Green would keep their thoughts under their hats.