Cricket: Bangladesh’s “greatest win”

England’s cricketing history is littered with “low moments”, said George Dobell on Espncricinfo. There have been whitewashes and thrashings: in 1992, the side were routed by a Zimbabwean chicken farmer who wasn’t even a professional. And now, we can add the second Test in Bangladesh to that “catalogue of shame”. England didn’t just lose; they lost ten wickets for a pathetic 64 runs. It was like watching a “Greatest Hits compilation” of their historic failings: there was “the comical fielding, the impotent bowling” and, worst of all, the batting collapse. “Yes, Bangladesh were good” – but the visitors were unusually dreadful.

The collapse made for grim viewing, said Simon Hughes in The Times. The opening partnership started the second innings promisingly, with a century stand. But after that, the team fell to pieces: four batsmen were out for a duck; another four could manage no better than single figures. Bad as that was, however, the bowling was even more disastrous. On Bangladesh’s “treacherous” turning pitches, England’s spinners failed to maintain control. The current crop simply aren’t up to scratch: Moeen Ali bowls a “moderate” ball for every “decent” one; Adil Rashid lacks confidence. Blame the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph. The governing body has “presided over the extinction of the spin culture” in English cricket. In the early 1990s, almost all counties fielded two specialist spinners. But since then, spin bowling has been in decline in England – and the ECB has done too little to encourage it, even taking action against clubs that have turning pitches. That neglect leaves England vulnerable against Asian spinners; they can expect an even greater challenge next week when they begin a tour of India, the world’s No. 1 Test side.

England’s failings shouldn’t detract from Bangladesh’s “greatest win”, said Will Macpherson in The Guardian. In their 16-year Test history, the hosts had only previously beaten Zimbabwe and a depleted West Indies side. They have come on in leaps and bounds since England thrashed them in 2010; now, they boast “a game plan, ambition and street-smarts”. And in Mehedi Hasan, they have a very bright prospect indeed, said Berry. The son of a lorry driver, Mehedi was too poor growing up to afford a bat and pads, only getting his own when a neighbour paid for them. He turned 19 just last week, and made his debut in the first Test – yet he is already an “exceptionally mature” bowler, taking 19 wickets in the two-match series. He landed a far higher proportion of balls in the right place than any other spinner, and at a “challenging pace”. Always entertaining to watch, Mehedi “personifies what is best about Bangladesh’s new generation”.