Steven Finn rattles Bangladesh on rain-hit day

Steven Finn made the most of the 28.5 overs allowed by rain and bad light on the third day at Lord's to further enhance his reputation with three wickets as Bangladesh limped to 237 for 7 under overcast skies. With James Anderson bowling himself back in to rhythm, claiming a confidence-boosting brace, it was hard for the visitors who had performed so admirably on Friday but are still 69 runs away from saving the follow-on.
English bowling assaults always look far more threatening when they have overhead conditions to help them and they were transformed from the below-par performance of the earlier afternoon. Finn was given his favoured Pavilion Finish and reaped the rewards by causing continued issues together with his bounce, while Anderson began to rediscover his outswinger.
With a view to the future it was Finn's performance that was most eye-catching. Significantly they was handed the second new ball and struck together with his second delivery to remove the obstinate Mushfiqur Rahim as one nipped between bat and pad, not dissimilar to now Glenn McGrath, Finn's idol, took lots of of his wickets at Lord's.
It wasn't until 3.20pm that the players managed to take the field and England were clearly keen to take advantage of the conditions, but had also talked about their tactics as the lengths were much better. Finn, operating from the finish where they does most of his bowling for Middlesex, struck in the fourth over when Junaid Siddique - after a resilient 58 - could not withdraw his bat in time; an issue caused by the additional bounce.
Mohammad Ashraful, who was dropped for the series in Bangladesh a couple of months ago, came in at No. 5 and opened his account with a positive square drive before being unluckily sent on his way. Finn nipped a ball back in to his pads and Asoka de Silva answered the bowler's appeal though later replays showed it was missing leg.
At the Nursery Finish Anderson continued to battle against himself following an inactive three-weeks in the Caribbean which has left him short of bowling. However, slowly they began to rediscover the outswinger which barely made an appearance the earlier day and produced a lovely delivery which went away from Jahurul Islam to nick the outside edge.
Shakib Al Hasan, short of match practice after suffering chicken pox at the beginning of the tour, began in positive fashion but had to be very watchful as conditions continued to aid the bowlers. Tim Bresnan replaced Finn after a seven-over spell and was much improved as they found a fuller length to regularly beat Mushfiqur's outside edge.
It was Anderson, though, who made the next breakthrough when Shakib's concentration wavered and they pushed hard outside off stump to a ball that moved away. Matt Prior made a hash of a simple catch, but fortunately for the wicketkeeper Andrew Strauss was on hand at first slip to pouch the rebound much as Graeme Swann had been in the World Twenty20 final when Craig Kieswetter spilled an edge. However, given the scrutiny on Prior's place it won't be a lovely suggestion to do it often.
Mushfiqur, three years after making his debut on this ground as a 16-year-old, gave another demonstration of the process that makes him Bangladesh's most solid batsman. But in gloomy light after tea they could not keep out Finn's excellent start with the new ball in the coursework of a seven-ball period between stoppages. Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, was clearly angered by the umpire's judgement on the light as the players left the field again after the wicket.
Play resumed for another nine deliveries - three of which Shahadat Hossain swung wildly at to recommend they wasn't keen on the fight - and although England were denied the chance to wrap up the innings they are going to be confident of putting Bangladesh back in again on the fourth day.

Dilshan falls after fluent half-century

Tillakaratne Dilshan showed signs of returning to form and pushed Sri Lanka to 100 for 3 at the finish of 25 overs in Bulawayo. It was an fascinating first half of the play. The overnight rains meant the pitch had moisture in it to help both the seamers and spinners. The medium-pacers got movement and also exploited the two-paced nature of the wicket and the spinners found generous turn to keep the batsmen calm.
The situation demanded that the batsmen show self restraint and Dilshan did exactly that to slowly shake off his poor form. It wasn't the Dilshan that they have come to know. He hit his first boundary off his 35th ball and it wasn't until his 50th delivery that he selected to rush down the track to play one a massive shot. It was his abstinence against the new ball that stood out. There weren't lots of flamboyant on-the-up hits, dashes down the track and attempts to force the pace. He did try to play couple of aggressive shots against the new ball but when he found that he was mis-timing them, he quickly changed tack and commenced to work the angles.
Dilshan broke free against a slower one from Ashok Dinda in the tenth over and commenced to find his fluency. He selected to play close to the body against the spinners - Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. He used his feet to either return or fully forward to drive and punch the spinners. He lifted Ojha for a huge four over long on and cut the errant Ravindra Jadeja for couple of successive fours in the 22nd over.
It was all looking nice for Sri Lanka but Dilshan ran himself out in the 24th over to permit India to come back in to the game. He turned Mishra to midwicket and hesitated before deciding to go for the single but could not beat the throw from Rohit Sharma.
Additionally, there was further drama, a touch comic in nature, when novice captain Suresh Raina forgot to tell the umpires that he desired to take the bowling Powerplay after the tenth over though he had a field set that met the requirements of the Powerplay. He realised his error later much to the amusement of Dilshan and the bewilderment of his team-mates and took the Powerplay in the 18th over. It didn't turn out to be a pricey mistake as this pitch demanded that the fielding captain assault with close-set fields.

Pakistan board lifts one-year ban on ex-captain Malik

Ex-Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik won't be joining Lancashire after having his international ban overturned.
The all-rounder was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board for disciplinary reasons after the tour of Australia.
But a successful appeal against the one-year ban frees Malik for the Asia Cup and next month's tour of England.
Lancashire, who had signed Malik, 28, earlier this month for their Twenty20 campaign, have now told BBC Sport that they are taking a look at other options.
Malik, who was sacked as captain after the one-day series against Sri Lanka in January last year, was due to join Lancashire's abroad pair of Simon Katich and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and replace outgoing South Africa international Ashwell Prince.
He was scheduled to arrive at Elderly Trafford ahead of their Twenty20 campaign against Durham on Friday (4 June).
But Lancashire officials confirmed on Saturday evening, following the rained-off first day of the Roses match at Elderly Trafford, that they have been made to look elsewhere, while also admitting that time is now against the 2005 beaten finalists.
Malik's international suspension came alongside indefinite bans handed to key batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan.
They were accused of "infighting which... brought down the whole team" on the troubled tour of Australia, in which Pakistan lost all two Tests, two one-day matches as well as a Twenty20 international.
Prior to the suspension, Malik, who married Indian tennis player Sania Mirza in April, had played 29 Check matches and 190 one-day internationals.
Now an independent arbitration tribunal has "partially accepted" his appeal, overturning his ban while also halving his fine to a million Pakistan rupees (£8,100).
"I am very happy on getting this news," said Malik.
"It's a kind of new lease of life for me and I desperately require to play for my country again."
Malik and Younus, who had both lodged appeals against their bans, were named in a 35-man "probables" squad on 25 May for the forthcoming Asia Cup, as well as this summer's series against Australia and England.