So what do we all think? I guess Bangladesh are slightly ahead – although it remains to be seen whether their tail will wag. Either way this game is very much in the balance. Bangladesh have proved they’re no pushovers in home conditions. I imagine that Cook and Bayliss’ bums will feel pretty squeaky tonight. Now there’s a pleasant image for you.
Overall I’m feeling a little negative about our prospects – not necessarily our prospects in this particular match, but our prospects for the winter as a whole. Obviously we might still win this game comfortably, as we have no idea how Bangladesh twill cope with the pressure of a fourth innings chase, but I’m extremely concerned about the performance of our spinners. Thus far they’ve been totally out-bowled.
Batty was very nervous early on – something he admitted at the close – and he didn’t look penetrative in the slightest. When the three stooges selected him a few weeks ago, they probably thought of him as their banker. He looked anything but today. I imagine the Jack Leach brigade are incredulous.
Meanwhile, although Mo and Adil bowled some snorting deliveries, they looked like the flawed international bowlers they’ve always been. Although both are capable of taking wickets, they still don’t offer enough control. This is obviously a major issue, as teams usually win test matches by building pressure. Bangladesh’s spinners conceded two and a half runs per over. Ali and Rashid are giving away almost four. This isn’t going to cut it I’m afraid.
What worries me is that this Chittagong pitch is offering plenty of bounce and turn. And nobody can pretend that Bangladesh’s batsmen (useful thought they are) are in the same class as Kohli, Pujara and co. I hate to say it but this is probably the easiest England’s spinners are going to have it all winter. And yet they still weren’t good enough.
We also discovered today that our batsmen didn’t score enough runs. Hindsight is a wonderful thing (where would us cricket bloggers be without it?) but it turns out that 293 wasn’t as competitive as we all thought. We’ll need to play a lot better than this in a month’s time – especially when we’re facing a canny old fox like Ravi Ashwin rather than a wet behind the ears teenager on debut. Mehedi bowled beautifully but Bishen Bedi he is not (not yet anyway).
So where do you see the game going from here? The bookies still make England slight favourites – we’re 20/21 to win with Sun Bets whereas Bangladesh are 6/4- but the home side could secure a small but significant first innings lead tomorrow. The key man, of course, will be Shakib. He’s a terrific cricketer and he’s been one of my favourite players since his short spell at Worcester a few years ago. We’ll need to get rid of him early.
England’s saviour could be the new ball. It will be interesting to see what Cook does with it. Thus far it has been a strange test: the new ball has helped the spinners whereas the old ball has helped the seamers. Would you give the new cherry to Batty and Mo or toss it to Broad and Woakes? Personally I’d be tempted to hedge my bets and give it to one seamer and one spinner.
As always the first session of the day will be crucial tomorrow. Let’s hope our lads rise to occasion. I’m writing a piece previewing England’s winter for an Indian supporters’ blog next week. I had planned to give several compelling reasons why England might beat India. It’s going to be a tough sell if we lose to bloody Bangladesh.
James Morgan
An excellent piece James. You said it all in your own inimitable way. Nothing to argue with, nothing to challenge but you still brought a smile amidst the gloom. :-
Thanks Jenny. We’re Dooooomed I tells ya!
No there’s still a long way to go. We can turn this around. But it’s really not the best of starts.
Day 3, later morning sessionand I got up to see England at 26-0 with a lead of 71. with Stokes having blasted the tail out. However the first ball I saw having put the TV on, Cook nicked off and Root and Duckett followed very soon after and the game is definitely back in the balance with the big two back in the shed. Plenty of ways the game could still go.