Story Bangladesh: From Minnows to Tigers! (End of England tour)

[qpeedore]

I think it's time to get this back on track. User, if you could work on the stuff I had asked for and get back to me when you can.

The first Test promises to be awesome and after those warmups, the team is going to be rearing to go!

 

[Gaurav_7]

Qpee, I've been stuck in something so couldn't work on anything. I'll get back to do all the stuff soon.

 

[qpeedore]

No problem. Take your time. The wait will be worth it.

 

[Fenil]

Qpee, I've been stuck in something so couldn't work on anything. I'll get back to do all the stuff soon.

Take your time, mate.

 

[qpeedore]

I really want to get this restarted, but User has some stuff going on. Instead of waiting for him, though, I think it's best to keep going. He had made a couple things for me some time ago, so I'll use what he has thus far.

BangladeshCricket.com match preview

The much-anticipated First Test between England and Bangladesh is about to get underway very soon. Bangladesh have performed well in their two warmup matches, beating Warwickshire easily before showing some substance in their drawn game against the MCC XI. It is clear that this Bangladesh team is gelling together as a unit, and a lot is expected of them.

One must also remember Tamim Iqbal's last outing to England in 2010, which really established himself as one of Bangladesh's top batsmen with back-to-back centuries against a strong England bowling lineup. He must be carrying thoughts of repeating such performances this time around. He would also be very familiar with the conditions by now, having performed well in the county circuit of late.

That being said, a lot of critics have continued their speeches about Bangladesh's inclusion in top-level cricket. Their performances have fueled that fire, with a lack of real results. Test match victories come rarely for the Tigers, and they will have a lot of hard work ahead of them if they are to silence the detractors. ODI wins are one thing, but the associate nations also have ODI victories against strong teams without being a part of the pinnacle of cricket, the Test arena.



Playing conditions

As with many grounds in world cricket recently, this pitch starts off very flat. There is bounce, but it is not likely to threaten the batsmen much at all. Rather, they can expect to trust that bounce and not be afraid to get into position early and play their shots. It will take a lot of discipline from the bowlers to ensure that they get the ball on the right line and length if they want to trouble the batsmen. It might be a long, hard, and ultimately unsuccessful day for more than one bowler out there.

The quicks might be heartened by the cloud cover overhead, however, which may favour swing for a longer period of time than usual. There was rain around over the past few days, but those menacing clouds have since gone away. If they can keep the ball on a slightly fuller length, they might just get it to move about a little.

There is no doubt about the decision to make after winning the toss. Bat first and build a big first innings total to put the opposition on the back foot from day one.



Squads

England

Alastair Cook (Bat)
Andrew Strauss (CAPT – Bat)
Nick Beasley (WK)
Andy Keen (Bat)
Chris Best (Bat)
Aaron Weaver (Bat)
Kevin Pietersen (Bat)
Graeme Swann (All)
Stuart Broad (Bowl)
Graham Onions (Bowl)
James Anderson (Bowl)


England have a strong team with a good mix of youth and experience. Their batting relies on the openers to make a strong start and do more than just see the shine off of the ball. Kevin Pietersen comes in lower down than usual, steadying an otherwise inexperienced middle order, while the experienced duo of Anderson and Onions would no doubt share the new ball.

Watch out for

Andrew Strauss – The England captain is in good form with the bat for his county team and he will look to keep that up in this match.

James Anderson – The most experienced bowler in the team, he is also the best. If he can get the ball to swing then he could forget about the flat pitch, because he can be unplayable with the ball moving.



Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal (Bat)
Shahriar Nafees (Bat)
Mohammed Mahmadullah (All)
Rajin Saleh (CAPT – Bat)
Shakib Al Hasan (All)
Shuvagoto Hom (Bat)
Nazimuddin (Bat)
Nadimuddin (WK)
Tareq Aziz (Bowl)
Dolar Mahmud (Bowl)
Mohammed Sharif (Bowl)

Bangladesh have gone with a fairly rounded team for this first test. They would have had a lot of problems with their batsmen selection as a lot of players performed well in the two warm-up games. Still, there are no real surprises in the final squad.

Watch out for

Mohammed Sharif – His ability to pick up wickets on good batting tracks was evident in the warm-ups and if his form continues in this match then England have a lot to worry about.

Rajin Saleh – The captain has runs to his name and he looked effortless in his 160 against MCC. Nothing would delight him more than to lead from the front and get another big score in this game.



The toss

Strauss and Saleh are out in the middle for the toss. The crowd gives a great reaction to the ceremony and when the coin lands, it is revealed that England won and they decided to bat first, to another big reaction.

Strauss says that they want to post a big total on the board and then bowl Bangladesh out cheaply, but of course he expects a competitive game. With the pitch as good as it looks for batting, he knows that the first innings is crucial and could go a long way to deciding the outcome of the match.

Saleh hopes that his bowlers can get swing with the skies being as cloudy as they are. That could work to their advantage, although he would have liked to bat first as well. He does not expect England to give them an easy time, but with a couple of early wickets, they could find themselves on the defensive very early into the match.



Play begins in the next update! I know this isn't the best graphically, but the different font and colours should break the monotony. Credit to User2010 for the great banner, of course.

 

[Fenil]

England start as favorites. Lets see how the Bangla tigers perform.

 

[qpeedore]

Play ? 1st Test, Day 1

Mahmud stood at the top of his mark with the shiny red cherry in his hand. Down at the other end, Cook took his guard and was ready. The umpire gave the signal and Mahmud ran in. He was on target immediately, getting Cook forward in a defensive push that was angling in toward the off stump. He bowled a good first over but Cook negotiated it well.

Strauss got England going in the next over with a cover drive for four. Mahmud had him playing and missing a couple of times, but Strauss handled himself well and the ball kept passing harmlessly past the edge. Saleh stood in the slips with his hand on his head.

Aziz thought he had Cook caught by the first slip in the 5th over and there was clearly a noise, but the umpire remained unmoved. Replays showed that the bat had brushed the pad and not the ball. Bangladesh would have to work harder to get the first wicket.

Cook survived an early appeal

The bowlers stuck to their lines and lengths, however. The openers found scoring difficult and they earned every run that came their way. Only when Sharif came to replace Mahmud at his end did the boundaries start flowing a little more freely and the opening partnership passed 50.

Strauss was the one who scored most of the runs in that partnership and he got to his fifty with about half an hour before lunch with a textbook cover drive that rolled all along the ground for four. He celebrated for only a moment before putting his head down and digging himself in for the long haul.

Bangladesh were not bowling particularly badly, but they went to lunch without the breakthrough they would have wanted. England went in looking strong at 95 without loss.

Alastair Cook, left, and Andrew Strauss head off the pitch at lunch on Day 1

The teams came back out after the break and Bangladesh decided to attack for a few overs. It worked in their favour a few overs into the session when Sharif got Strauss LBW to one that the batsman really should have had covered. Bangladesh finally had their first wicket with the score at 111, England?s unlucky number.

Beasley had a lot of fielders around him when he came to the crease, but he handled himself well and defended the good balls while hitting the few bad ones away. At the other end, Cook managed to bring up a very patient and well-played 50 off of 112 balls.

Cook played well after a shaky start

The partnership between the two men got to 62 before Shakib had Beasley out LBW for 26. Keen was the new man in and he was not tempted by a wider ball first up, but his second ball was angled down the leg side and was rightly swept away to the fine leg boundary. England went to tea with the score at 191 for 2.

Almost immediately after the break Mahmadullah got himself his first wicket of the match when he got one to just turn a fraction, beating Cook?s bat and clipping the off stump. Cook went for 72. With the spinners in operation, the batsmen were happy to just push the ball away and take whatever singles were on offer. Shakib and Mahmadullah kept on doing their thing, and it was not long before Mahmadullah added to his tally via a brilliant catch from the slip fielder. England were 221 for 4 at that time.

Mahmadullah celebrates one of his wickets

Bangladesh took the new ball as soon as it was due. England seemed more than able to handle it and the harder ball went to the boundary with frequency, but Aziz and Mahmud persisted. Aziz in particular used the short ball to good effect and he got the wicket of Weaver that very way. He surprised the batsman with one that perhaps did not get up as much as would be expected. Weaver was caught in two minds and in the end he played a limp hook. The ball took the bottom edge and went to Saleh at first slip, who took a good low catch.

That brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease, but all eyes were not on him but instead on his partner Keen, who brought up his first Test fifty with a four through midwicket in the final over of the day. Play ended with both teams still looking on level terms.

End of Day 1 ? England 288/5, Strauss 74, Mahmadullah 2-44

 

[qpeedore]

Playing conditions – Day 2

The pitch is holding up quite well and in fact today might actually be one of the best days for batting in terms of how the pitch will play. The bounce continues to be true and there are really very little inconsistencies within this track.

Up above, the skies are looking threatening however, and rain may be a factor at some point. Still, nobody would think twice about wanting to be out in the middle batting and there are some big scores out there today.

Play – Day 2

Bangladesh still had a relatively new ball to work with and they started with an attacking field right from the outset. Keen started the day positively, hitting the very first ball for four and looking just as he had the evening before.

He would not have liked it when play had to be halted due to rain just 4 overs into the day, but it really had started to pelt down and clearly the umpires had to stop things. Almost an hour was lost due to the weather.

Pietersen lost his wicket just after play resumed, hitting one right into the lap of second slip for only 12. Swann survived a close LBW shout first ball, but he was hit marginally outside the line of the off stump and he would have been thankful for that because he was well and truly beaten by a beauty from Mahmud.

Kevin Pietersen walks off after being caught for 12

Keen realized that he did not have much capable batting partners left and he took it upon himself to score some quick runs. He did this to great effect and soon the fours started coming. He entered the 90s and looked like he had done it countless times before. There were no signs of nerves as he calmly hit one to the square leg boundary to bring up a brilliant century, his first at Test level.

He lost his partner Swann in the over after he reached his milestone, LBW to Aziz. England went to lunch at 366 for 7 with Keen continuing to look great.

Shakib took over from Mahmud after lunch and he was the man to get Keen out as he miscued one to long on for 104. Onions frustrated Bangladesh for some time, hitting 6 fours before he was bowled by Shakib. The last wicket also went to Shakib, just a ball later, when Anderson was all over the place to a straight one and ended up being caught in front for a simple LBW decision.

Shakib and his teammates celebrate the final English wicket

End of England innings – 412/10, Keen 104, Al Hasan 4-78

**********************************************
England v Bangladesh
1st Test Match - 6 May 2013
**********************************************

England - 1st Innings
----------------------------------------------
A Cook          b M'udullah               72
A Strauss       lbw b Sharif              74
N Beasley       lbw b Al Hasan            26
A Keen          c Hom b Al Hasan          104
C Best          c Aziz b M'udullah        22
A Weaver        c Saleh b Aziz            28
K Pietersen     c Aziz b Mahmud           12
G Swann         lbw b Aziz                19
S Broad         not out                   9
G Onions        b Al Hasan                31
J Anderson      lbw b Al Hasan            0
----------------------------------------------
Extras: (nb6,w3,b4,lb2)                   15
TOTAL: (all out, 121 overs)               412

**********************************************

                O       M       R       W
----------------------------------------------
D Mahmud        30      3       115     1
T Aziz          30      3       106     2
M Sharif        18      2       63      1
S Al Hasan      28      7       78      4
M Mahmudullah   14      1       44      2
----------------------------------------------
Fall of Wickets:
1-111  2-173  3-193  4-221  5-270  
6-307  7-364  8-373  9-412  10-412

**********************************************

Bangladesh had some batting to do to make things competitive and Tamim certainly got them underway in style with a four to open his account. But just as Bangladesh themselves had bowled well, so did England. Runs were not particularly easy to come by off of good bowling but Bangladesh were patient and they went to tea at 41 for no wicket.

Tamim fell shortly after tea when he pushed at one from Anderson without much conviction. The ball popped up into the air and Anderson ran across in his follow through to take the catch. Bangladesh were 67 for 1.

Jimmy Anderson was animated after getting Tamim Iqbal out

Mahmadullah looked good at the start but Anderson was in the middle of a good spell and he got the batsman to play at a wider one. The ball took the edge and went to second slip for an easy catch. Mahmadullah went for 19 and the score was 93 for 2.

Nafees was still there, though, and he continued to be cautious as he approached fifty. He got there with a cover drive for four and raised his bat almost as soon as he had played the shot. But he knew that more had to be done and he buckled down once more.

Shahriar Nafees plays into the on side during his innings

He and Saleh brought up the fifty partnership in good time but some poor calling almost led to Nafees being run out with just a few balls to go in the day. Saleh pushed the ball to backward point and called for the single. Nafees stood at the non-striker’s end and shouted no but Saleh was already about halfway down the pitch. Eventually Nafees took off and just barely got to the other end in time. He and Saleh had a long mid-pitch conference following the close call and they seemed to have sorted out their communication after that. Bangladesh ended Day 2 almost the same way as they had ended Day 1. Everything was still even between the two teams.

End of Day 2 – Bangladesh 181/2, Nafees 75*, Anderson 2-40
Bangladesh trail by 231 runs

This has all the makings of a good match. Can Bangladesh get a competitive first innings total or will England get the remaining 8 wickets cheaply? Day 3 will be a crucial day for the Test.

User2010 has the credit for that banner at the top. I may be repeating myself over and over, but it's not my work and credit has to go where it's due.

And yes, I realise that's Dravid in the background in the final picture, but you just try finding good pictures of Shahriar Nafees online!

 

[Gaurav_7]

That's a solid start from Bangladesh! Nafees and Saleh look set and should kick on further on Day 3. I'm liking this presentation, very neat. Apologies, I couldn't get the works done on time. LT had a bad crash.

 

[qpeedore]

Playing conditions – Day 3

The pitch is starting to show some signs of wear and tear but there is nothing that should really trouble the batsmen too much. To be honest, only the areas where the bowlers land really seem to be breaking up. It's a testament to the groundsman for getting a pitch to hold up so well, but that does not make the bowlers happy by any means.

As far as the weather goes, the clouds have rolled away and while the skies are not totally clear, the few wisps of cotton-like stuff above are non-threatening. Overall, today should be a good day to play cricket.

Play – Day 3

Saleh and Nafees started cautiously but it was not long before the shots came out. Saleh got himself his 16th Test fifty with a vicious cut for 6 over backward point and Nafees even joined in with a few fours. Soon the partnership passed 100. Strauss was left scratching his head in the field, seemingly oblivious as to how to get either one of the pair of Bangladeshis out.

Nafees entered the 90s and spent a few nervous overs there but he eventually got to his century with a quick single to midwicket. He would only add 2 more runs to his tally, however, as Anderson managed to find a hint to reverse swing that Nafees could not cope with and he ended up edging to the keeper. Bangladesh were 230 for 3 after a massive partnership.

Nafees could not carry on after celebrating his century

Shakib had a bit of a streaky start to his innings, edging one past the slips for four to get off the mark. He settled down after that, and he had a great example of concentration at the other end in Saleh. The Bangladeshi captain was a picture of calm as he stood at the crease, whether at the striker's or non-striker's end.

Saleh’s calmness was tested off of the bowling of Swann when he flashed at a flighted one. The ball was edged to the lone slip but it went into the hands and out. He was on 78 at the time. He made them rue that dropped chance as he approached his century. He got there with a beautiful on drive that not even the diving long on had a chance of stopping. Bangladesh went to lunch after having the best of the session by far. England had a lot to discussions to partake in as they went to the pavilion.

Andrew Strauss was a worried man at lunch

The teams returned after the break and Saleh just continued where he had left off. The reverse swing that Anderson had gotten earlier was gone and Saleh took advantage of some ordinary bowling to send the ball all over the park. Shakib entered the 40s and the second century stand in a row came up before long. England were letting their good batting performance in the first innings be wasted by some average bowling.

England took the new ball immediately and they would have hoped that it would do something for them. But by this time the batsmen were well set and they played with ease. Shakib brought up his fifty with a single to third man and it looked just so easy for the visitors at that point.

Saleh got to 150 for the first time in his Test career with about 30 minutes to go before tea. The records continued to tumble as Bangladesh also passed their all-time highest 4th wicket partnership of 172.

Nothing went England’s way and when fine leg was presented with a regulation chance off of a mistimed hook from Shakib, it just rubbed salt in the wounds when the fielder made a total mess of the chance. He never even got near it in the end. Strauss was visibly upset at that point, and looked like a man at the end of his rope.

Bangladesh went past England’s first innings score in the next over, only 3 wickets down. It was something that nobody had expected, and the English crowd politely applauded the counterattacking mindset of the visitors. Finally with a few minutes to go until tea, England had the breakthrough when Swann tempted Shakib with a flighted one. Shakib came out of the crease but was beaten and found himself stumped by a matter of centimetres after a long review from the third umpire. He went for 83 after a partnership of 190 with his captain.

Hom got off the mark with a triple and no further runs were scored until tea. Bangladesh went into the pavilion with their heads held high at 423 for 4.

After the interval, Broad got the wicket of Hom, LBW for just 12. Saleh just continued going and yet another Bangladeshi batting record fell along the way. This time it was the record for the highest score by a Bangladeshi batsman. Previously it had been 189 set by Tamim, but even he did not seem disappointed as he stood on the balcony applauding his captain with a smile on his face.

Bangladeshi supporters cheer their team on

Nazimuddin was caught by the wicketkeepet for 25 after a 43-run partnership with Saleh. As the similarly-named Nadimuddin walked to the crease, all eyes were on Saleh himself as he approached his double. The Bangladeshi supporters would have been disappointed when Nadimuddin found himself trapped in front first ball to be out LBW. Anderson had his 5th wicket but he worked incredibly hard for those wickets. There was little in the way of his celebration this time around, and a comparison was made between his reservations now and the intensity he had shown when he had taken the wicket of Tamim yesterday.

He was only in the spotlight for a short time, however. Soon enough Saleh grabbed the attention once again as he became the first Bangladeshi batsman in history to score a double century in Test cricket. He brought it up in fine style, too, with another six over backward point. As the crowd and his teammates cheered on, he fell to the ground and soaked it all in. It took a full minute before play resumed and he pushed one to midwicket for a single to get off strike.

The shot that brought Saleh his double

Aziz eventually fell for 25 and soon enough Saleh was out as well, getting a faint edge to the keeper off of that man Anderson once again. He fell for 213, about 140-odd past the 78 he was dropped on so long ago.

Anderson wrapped up the innings with his 7th wicket when he had Mahmud LBW and play ended after what clearly had been Bangladesh’s day.

End of Day 3 – Bangladesh 545/10, Saleh 213, Anderson 7-109
Bangladesh lead by 133 runs

**********************************************
England v Bangladesh
1st Test Match - 6 May 2013
**********************************************

Bangladesh - 1st Innings
----------------------------------------------
T Iqbal         c & b Anderson            31
S Nafees        c Beasley b Anderson      102
M Mahmudullah   c Swann b Anderson        19
R Saleh         c Beasley b Anderson      213
S Al Hasan      st Beasley b Swann        83
S Hom           lbw b Broad               12
N Nazimuddin    c Beasley b Anderson      26
N Nadimuddin    lbw b Anderson            0
T Aziz          lbw b Onions              25
D Mahmud        lbw b Anderson            5
M Sharif        not out                   1
----------------------------------------------
Extras: (nb10,w4,b12,lb2)                 28
TOTAL: (all out, 132.5 overs)             545

**********************************************

                O       M       R       W
----------------------------------------------
S Broad         37      2       155     1
J Anderson      31.5    0       109     7
G Onions        21      0       109     1
G Swann         42      4       156     1
A Strauss       1       0       2       0
----------------------------------------------
Fall of Wickets:
1-67  2-93  3-230  4-420  5-453  
6-496  7-496  8-539  9-544  10-545

**********************************************

Credits to User for the banner. And a direct comment to User from me...I actually like the way the presentation looks now too. Not too much graphics but enough to enhance the story. All it really needed was some formatting.

Onto the match situation, YEAH for the Tigers, especially Saleh! Amazing innings from the captain and he was involved in two big partnerships that took things away from England. Day 4 will see England having to erase a significant deficit before they even think about setting a total for Bangladesh to chase in the final innings.

The next update might not be until Wednesday, unfortunately. I would have loved to give you Day 4 tomorrow (it's already written up...actually I have until halfway through the Australian tour fully written up!)...but I have to work a...uh..let's see, 24 plus 8 is 32 so...quadruple shift starting tomorrow morning and going into Tuesday. So by the time I get home I just want my bed. Wednesday is looking like the day for me.

 

[Bevab]

Cool updates man.
Wow, Saleh scored a double.

 

[RPHKR]

Wonderful Updates .....

 

[qpeedore]

Playing conditions – Day 4

Today is a very fine day for cricket and the pitch continues to hold up superbly. There are some footmarks that would interest the spinners and some of the tiny cracks have opened up just on a good length to possibly cause the batsmen some problems off of the quicker men. But batting should still be a relatively easy task once the batsmen are prepared to dig themselves in.

Play – Day 4

Bangladesh had 133 runs on England and they would have wanted to get as many wickets as possible before that deficit was erased.

England went about erasing it the right way as Cook hit Mahmud’s first ball for a boundary to get things going on Day 4. They eased into their innings, not looking to be too aggressive while at the same time keeping the scoreboard ticking.

Alastair Cook flicks the first ball of the day for four

It was Sharif who got the first wicket, that of Strauss for 33. The ball just held its line and Strauss was beaten as the ball went through the gate to knock the middle stump over. England were 48 for 1.

Beasley came to the middle and he and Cook continued to play without showing too much aggression. They looked to go to lunch without further loss but Shakib had other ideas in mind. He had Cook feeling for one and the ball took the edge to go to silly point for a brilliant diving catch from Saleh. England were 85 for 2 by the break with Beasley on 20 and Keen having now started his innings on 1.

The batsmen were more aggressive after lunch and the fours started to come. But just as England were starting to look good, Bangladesh struck. Sharif started a new spell and had Beasley playing and missing to a good length ball outside the off stump before he surprised him with a shorter one that Beasly could only pull to midwicket. England were 131 for 3.

They went past the deficit and started to build their lead, effectively 3 wickets down already. Keen was patient and he got to fifty with a cut for four. The going was slow with the loss of the third wicket but more importantly, England lost no further wickets before tea and they went in with the lead at 48.

Mahmadullah struck just three balls after tea, bowling Best for 29. Again England were looking good and again they had lost a wicket at a bad time. Weaver came out and he stuck around with Keen. Together the two built a solid partnership and this frustrated Bangladesh. By the time the new ball was due, Bangladesh needed that option and they took it immediately.

Mahmadullah shows his worth as a spin option when he dismissed Best

4 overs in, Sharif got the important wicket of Keen. He had gotten to 91 by that time and Bangladesh would have been happy to see him walking back to the pavilion. Pietersen walked out and was aggressive right from the outset. He hit 5 fours in his 28 runs before play ended for the day. England had recovered well but if Bangladesh could dismiss them quickly tomorrow, the match could possibly be the visitors' own to lose.

Kevin Pietersen did not care about the impending close of play

End of Day 4 – England 289/5, Keen 91, Sharif 3-54
England lead by 156 runs

Yes, I know I said Wednesday, but 5 hours' worth of sleep since...uh...Sunday night is enough to keep me going. (That and some alcohol but...shh about the alcohol!)

In any case, I couldn't leave such an important day of the Test for Wednesday.

Will Bangladesh dismiss England for a gettable target or will Pietersen continue his aggression and take the game away from them? Who wins this match? What will happen? Day 5...ah, Day 5 you'll wait for a few days. I want opinions. Thanks are one thing, replies are another. Opinions outweigh both by far.

Next update will be Sunday, when the end of the Test is revealed. Until then, post what you think will happen. Nothing stirs activity than posting!

The credit goes to User2010 for the banner at the top of the post.

Also, since Beasley and Keen (both players are generated by the game, I think) were involved in such a big partnership together, it got me wondering...what do I do about graphics when most of the teams are computer-generated players? My writing is hopefully good enough to compensate, but then it's going to end up like my first posts...a block of text with nothing in between. Any suggestions as to how a graphics-poor poster can handle such things would be very much welcome. Thanks.

 

[Gaurav_7]

The credit goes to User2010 for the banner at the top of the post.

Stop embarrassing me, lol.

what do I do about graphics when most of the teams are computer-generated players?

Maybe you can use some pics of cricketers over the net? Pretty difficult but, might well serve your cause.

 

[qpeedore]

Have a very rough day (weekend actually, since Friday). I need to catch up on some well-deserved sleep. So update will be tomorrow, barring yet another rough day.