Sportblog | The Guardian — England in Bangladesh 2016-17 RSS



It’s a shame Bangladesh didn’t win because England are so good at losing | Andy Bull

While defeat in Chittagong would have been a chastening experience for Alastair Cook’s side, it would have been a historic moment in Test cricket and one that Bangladesh will surely manage soonThey say the English are the only people who feel schadenfreude about themselves, and anyone who stuck with English cricket through the 1990s will know there is some truth in that. Back then you had to try to find some small measure of pleasure in their losses, which came around with ritual regularity. There was the rollercoaster thrill of their batting collapses, the dizzy lurch of a sudden but inevitable turn for the worse, and the meditative contemplation of their long and fruitless days in the field, watching the...

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Bangladesh v England: five talking points from the first Test in Chittagong

Alastair Cook picked three spinners but kept his seamers busy, England still have a gap at the top of their order, and DRS has provided more drama in ChittagongA sport that exists in three international formats is a sport taking risks with its future, and the five-day game now struggles to fill grounds in several nations. But when it is good, it is still the best. In Chittagong, a match that could have been hopelessly one-sided turned out to be a gripper – tight, tense, low‑scoring, ebbing and flowing, keeping us guessing till the final hour. And this was not just proper cricket but modern cricket, with infusions of urgency; Bangladesh began their run chase as if playing T20. Which...

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Six of the best in Bangladesh essential for England’s India preparations | Vic Marks

Selectors may have one eye on the next series but will need to get things right first in Chittagong and DhakaEngland have won all eight of their Test matches against Bangladesh but they will have done very well if that 100% record remains intact in a fortnight’s time. There are good reasons for this conclusion ranging from the weather – there is clearly rain about in Chittagong at this time of the year – to the perception that Bangladesh have improved significantly in recent times.There is concrete evidence for Bangladesh’s advance with a white ball. By winning the ODIs 2-1 England ended a run of six series victories at home for Bangladesh and it was all the more rewarding for...

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England will leave Bangladesh knowing more about roguish band of ODI tyros | Will Macpherson

Paul Farbrace says Jos Buttler could not have had a tougher first series as captain but everyone rose to the challenge, despite the mental barriers they had to crossWhen England travelled to Bangladesh two weeks ago, there were many reasons why they could have lost the ODI leg – and in the course of the series they created a few more. Absent players, ever-improving opposition, alien conditions, crowds wishing them the worst, the suffocating – if superb, and inescapable – security detail and some overemotional aggro all popped up at one stage or another. England’s greenhorns passed their test, however. Related: Jos Buttler says England’s ODI series win in Bangladesh is ‘hugely satisfying’ Related: Eoin Morgan will resume England limited-overs...

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