At the end of another topsy-turvy day in an ever-fluctuating series Bangladesh recorded their first Test win against England by the emphatic margin of 108 runs. It was a landmark victory for the home side, who had previously beaten only Zimbabwe (five times) and a depleted West Indies (twice) in the longest format of the game. It was something of a humiliation for England.
At the start of the day Bangladesh, 128 ahead with seven wickets left, were favourites to make some history. They set a target of 273 on a devilish track but by tea England had cruised to 100 without loss. After the break, though, Alastair Cook’s side, tormented by the teenage off-spinner Mehedi Hasan, were bowled out for 164, losing 10 wickets in 110 minutes.
Cook has experienced many highs and lows as England captain but here he was not altogether surprised by the defeat. England had extricated themselves from a tricky situation in Chittagong in the first Test but they could not manage a repeat.
“It’s very easy sitting back and saying it’s just Bangladesh,” he said. “But on spinning wickets their bowlers are good, they’re experienced – I know one of them is only 19 but he is experienced in these conditions and very good. It has been really tough but I don’t think this is the toughest defeat I’ve had to bear.”
Indeed Cook’s mood was phlegmatic, verging on philosophical. He knows there is a long tour ahead in India and that he needs to keep spirits high.
However, he was not quite in the mood to match the immortal words of the England rugby captain John Pullin, who led his side to an 18-9 defeat in Dublin at the height of the Troubles in 1973. At the dinner afterwards Pullin had to speak. “Well, we may not be very good,” he said, “but at least we turned up” – which won the hearts of the Irish. Here England have also won a few hearts by agreeing to come to Bangladesh as well as spreading even more joy by their defeat.
Cook was candid enough afterwards, admitting England’s spinners had been outbowled by those of Bangladesh. “In these three days we just haven’t been good enough to win a game of cricket. Sometimes you have to remember it’s just a game of cricket,” he said.
However, at times on the last day it became a very heated game, with Ben Stokes getting a little too animated in his exchanges with the young Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman. Stokes was fined 15% of his match fee and received one demerit point; three more of these in the next two years and he might be banned.
According to the International Cricket Council: “Stokes ignored the repeated requests and instructions of the on-field umpires by continuing to verbally engage with Sabbir. The on-field umpires had also advised the England captain of Stokes’s actions but the player didn’t comply with the instructions.”
This response to Stokes’s behaviour did not impress Cook greatly. “I do find it a little bit frustrating,” he said. “Both Sabbir and Stokesy are very competitive cricketers. To me people love it [when they confront one another]; that’s what people watch. Sometimes I believe the umpires can get involved too quickly and then it blows up even more. It drags the episode out and brings more theatre to it than you need.”
Even without this little contretemps there was a wonderful abundance of theatre in this series, the best between these two countries. While Bangladesh savour their win in Dhaka, Cook will be far more concerned by the frailties of his team exposed by the home side than the behaviour of his talismanic all-rounder.
England have 10 days to regroup before the first Test in India, which begins in Rajkot on 9 November. Between now and then there is a lot of thinking to do but no cricket planned beyond the confines of a net.
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