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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment