Bangladesh v England: Alastair Cook century propels tourists into commanding position

By Derek Pringle in Chittagong 345PM GMT twelve March 2010

Ton-derful Alastair Cook accomplished the day"s fool around dominant on 158 Photo AFP

A debate of Bangladesh has prolonged been seen as a widen of tough work but with the perk of some-more advanced personal stats, mostly by a cause of 10. If Englands batsmen have been delayed to take value in the past, Alastair Cook done up for it on Friday, his big hundred eclipsing even Kevin Pietersen, who fell one run short of gushing when he was out for 99.

Cook, dominant on 158 at the close, had reached his century twenty mins prior to tea to stick on 4 alternative England captains with hundreds in their initial Test in charge. Incredibly, one of them, Pietersen, was batting with him, whilst another, Andrew Strauss, had since Cook the possibility to stick on this small bar by blank this tour. Cook even trumped his absent skipper by surpassing his 128, the prior top measure between the quintet, that additionally includes Allan Lamb and Archie McLaren.

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Captaincy has desirous Cook who has turn some-more assertive not usually in his range of shots but in the energy he puts in to them. To infer the point he struck dual sixes yesterday, that doubled his total in Tests. Both were robust sweep-slogs over cow corner, the second of them to move up his century.

It was formidable to contextualise Cooks effort. It was a Test innings, but usually since the International Cricket Council intended it so. Apart from the hot, humid continue and a small spasmodic neat bowling, there was really small contrast about it solely for the continuation of batting for 361 minutes.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has usually itself to censure for Fridays biased play, carrying abrogated the responsibilities as a Test-playing country. According to Jamie Siddons, Bangladeshs Australian coach, the infrastructure here can usually means 120 players, a liaison in a nation of 140 million. But even that slight cannot insist yesterdays crazy preference by Shakib Al Hasan to put England in to bat.

When you collect a side with 3 spinners and a spinning all-rounder, and are confronted by a organisation representation being oven baked even harder by on fire sunshine, you dont ask your opponents to bat. Any try at reason is going to be as well inferior to justify, together with the actuality that Bangladesh discharged India for 243 here 6 weeks ago after bowling first. What it looked similar to was a classical box of not wanting England with new top Steve Finn bolstering their four-man conflict at the responsibility of second spinner James Tredwell to play on it first.

To devalue matters, England got off to a flier, with Cook and Michael Carberry, an additional debutant, tucking in to careless bowling from Rubel Hossain with a appreciative range of shots. It was so bad that by the eighth over, Shakib had brought himself on to fixed the flow.

It didnt work and prior to the initial hour was up he had done 4 bowling changes. Eventually, Mahmudullah won an lbw opposite Carberry with his off-breaks, anticipating sufficient turn from around the wicket to prove referee Rod Tucker when the left-hander longed for his sweep.

Jonathon Trott could equate himself detrimental when he fell to a bouncer from Rubel. The catch to Mushfiqur Rahim, the wicketkeeper, came off his helmet. But if Trott lingered longer than was respectful, his dishonesty came close to gainsay when he vented his disappointment on a chair en track to sauce room.

Spin, and in sold the left-arm variety, sent down by Shakib and Abdur Razzak, unsuccessful to impede Pietersen. His new-style straight-hitting seemed foolproof until he looked for the singular that would have brought him his 17th Test hundred. At that point he over behind in to his old failings opposite Abdur Razzak and was bowled off-stump.

Pietersen put his own turn on events by proclaiming Shakibul Al Hasan as one of the worlds most appropriate 3 spinners. If he believes it, so be it, but no volume of luminosity with the round by Shakibul can clear away his group from this mire.