Cook insists Bangladesh ‘thoroughly deserved win’

Captain Alastair Cook admitted England had “a lot to work on” after suffering a first-ever Test defeat to Bangladesh.

England crashed to a historic 108-run defeat in Dhaka yesterday after losing all 10 of their second-innings wickets in the evening session on day three.

The collapse exposed England’s deficiencies against spin as they crashed from 100 for none at tea to be all out for 164.

“Probably today we showed our inexperience in these conditions,” Cook said in an interview on Sky Sports 2.

“A lot of these guys have not played many Test matches and when that ball got rolling we found it very hard to stop.

“I was out there for a lot of it as well and I couldn’t stop that ball. Credit to Bangladesh, they bowled well and caught well.”

England’s defeat draws into sharper focus with the five-Test series against India due to start in a fortnight, leaving them precious little time to work on the mistakes made during a series that finished drawn at 1-1.

“There’s a lot to work on and a lot of game-plan issues to get right,” Cook said.

“There’s a lot of chatting, but you can chat all you want – it’s about getting out there in the cauldron of all the men around the bat when you first go in.”

England had been left with what would have been their record fourth-innings chase in Asia after bowling Bangladesh out for 296.

The target would have been lower but for costly missed opportunities, as England put down a host of chances in the morning session, while they also failed to review at least two decisions that would have been given out via technology.

Cook paid credit to Bangladesh’s breakthrough win after they had only previously beaten Zimbabwe and West Indies in Test cricket.

“Clearly at home they’re going to be a tough side to beat, especially when they play on wickets like this,” he said.

“It’s not easy for me to say now, but it’s a good win for Bangladesh cricket. They thoroughly deserved their win. We have to learn fast.”

Captain Alastair Cook says England ‘have a lot to work on.’