With their bewildering array of spin options in Bangladesh, it seems Alastair Cook’s side do not know what they want. Little has changed from a fiasco in 1992Ian Salisbury tells a good tale about his Test debut. It was in the summer of 1992, and England were playing Pakistan at Lord’s. Salisbury was the first leg‑spinner England had picked in a generation, since Robin Hobbs in 1971. And he was treated, Hobbs said at the time, “like something that had dropped from the moon”. In the days before the Test, it became obvious that England’s wicketkeeper, Jack Russell, could not pick Salisbury’s bowling. So Russell and the coaches came up with a cunning plan. They told Salisbury he should communicate...
The visit of Alastair Cook’s team has saved Bangladesh from isolation and the captain Mushfiqur Rahim believes they will soon be beating all the big sidesAs Bangladesh toast their greatest win it is worth just for a moment pondering two things: first, how far they have come since England, the vanquished, last toured these parts in 2010 and then what might have happened had they not come this time.“They’ve obviously taken big strides,” Alastair Cook said, with a healthy dose of understatement. In 2010 the fact that Cook was captaining England said a bit about the opposition. Andrew Strauss was resting up and England still won both Tests, batting big on flat tracks, with ease – by 181 runs and...
Captain’s use of spinners in defeat by Bangladesh makes prospects in India bleak and England must bring in a right-hander to bolster batting, but Ben Duckett’s aggression provided light amid the gloom Related: Bangladesh claim historic Test win over England as collapse ensures tied series Related: Tamim Iqbal tucks in and gives spinners and Alastair Cook food for thought Continue reading...
The No8s are outperforming the top-order, Zafar Ansari is not a better batsman than Chris Woakes and Steven Finn continues to disappointIf there is something that characterises this England side, it is the bowling pin nature of their batting contributions: little up top, a lot lower down. The numbers show as much: this year, England’s sixth-wicket average is their highest (over 80), with the seventh, averaging over 50, their next best. Not for the first time, they were bailed out again by weighty contributions down the order, as Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid put on 99 for the ninth wicket – the highest English partnership for that wicket in Asia. Instead of a tail, England had Zafar Ansari at number...
The innings of the Bangladesh opener will have cheered India, who will surely be unfazed by the underwhelming performance of England’s spinnersWatching Tamim Iqbal tuck into England’s spinners in the morning session, it was difficult not to fear for them in India. India have not lost a home Test since losing to England in 2013, winning every match bar one – and that was a washout. In Chittagong, the ball turned from the first over but in Dhaka, the pitch offered only intermittent help so Alastair Cook needed his spinners to give him control – and they could not. Though they improved in the afternoon session, the feeling persists that Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and chums will not afford them...