A real hard Sel for Ding
Alastair Cook’s men, 1-0 up after their dramatic 22-run win in last week’s first Test against Bangladesh, have flirted with danger throughout, only to somehow recover.
They will have to do it again here after an action-packed second day of this final Test that saw Bangladesh close 128 runs ahead.
With five Tests to come in India before Christmas, much of England’s winter will hinge on whether they can hold their nerve and close out a series win on a pitch that is turning square.
At some stage today they will have to begin chasing down a total of some significance. Anywhere close to 200 will be a challenge.
While the hosts will fancy their chances of completing a first Test win against England, the bigger picture for Cook’s men is India, where they travel to on Wednesday.
Failure against Bangladesh, ranked ninth in the world, will not only dent confidence but suggest England are ill-equipped to compete with the world’s No.1 team in their backyard. One positive for England is that they would already MARK SELBY will face home favourite Ding Junhui in the International Championship final in Daqing, China today – with a prize pot of £125,000 up for grabs.
Selby beat Stuart Bingham 9-3 in their semi-final, despite a slow start in which he did not pot a ball in the first frame and just one in the second.
But Selby won the last two frames of the first session with breaks of 58 and 76 to claim a 5-3 lead – and in the evening session it was all one way.
Selby beat Ding in the World Championship final in May but lost to the same man at last month’s Shanghai Masters.
Ding booked his place in the final on Friday by knocking out Judd Trump 9-4.