Finally England have played a game of cricket in Bangladesh in what was a warm-up game against a BCB XI – XI, in these parts, evidently means 14, as that was the number of men in this one – and the tourists were made to huff and puff. Half of the home side’s players were internationals and the England XI won with time to spare, but not without a struggle. For them this was evidence of the assistant coach Paul Farbrace’s weekend warning: Bangladesh, they of the six successive ODI series wins at home, they of Adelaide 2015, will be no pushover.
England selected the XI – yes, that is 11 – they plan to play in Friday’s first ODI. Jason Roy had said beforehand that days such as this were for acclimatisation and this was, in many ways, the ideal tour game; a win in brutal, alien conditions – enough of a workout but plenty of to-work-ons.
First on England’s list of problems to conquer is the mid-30C heat and 80% humidity, which combined with the Dhaka smog (little wonder so many locals wear masks covering their mouths) left their fielders short on breath and counting down the balls in the Bangladeshis’ innings. It felt, some said, like the longest 50 overs they had ever played. Chris Woakes, the pick of their bowlers with three for 52, said: “We’ll be better for the fact that we have been out here and spent a full 50 overs in the dirt.” England will be mightily relieved that the three ODIs are day-nighters.
The humidity forced two of their bowlers, Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett, to leave the field with cramp after four overs apiece. They came back later with mixed returns – the former zippy and the latter struggling – and the impact of the conditions was also evident when Stokes was batting. He left his first ball outside off-stump and dropped to his haunches, the cramp having returned. Blessed relief came from the relentless breaks, the cold towels and the natty waiter occasionally delivering nibbles on which beleaguered fielders grazed.
The start of the cricket was supposed to signal the end of talk about security problems defining the tour, but this was the first time the England players had come face to face with vast numbers of locals – more than 5,000 all told. Apart from the three old ladies on a tuk-tuk finding their way into a hitherto tight traffic convoy on the way to the Osmani Stadium, it all passed without incident.
The match was ticketed and fans were searched airport-style on the way in, and guards policed the outer ring vigilantly. The ECB’s security adviser, Reg Dickason, and the Bangladesh government, which is funding all of this, have been the most important voices in the buildup, but the hope is the cricketers can take over.
For 40 overs, it was all fairly miserable for the England XI. Having lost the toss – which was delayed because the umpires failed to get themselves into the security convoy and were left to negotiate Dhaka’s rush-hour – England were asked to field when they would have batted. Woakes’s first over duly went for 14, including three cover-driven fours.
Their attack were flayed some more by Imrul Kayes, surely an opponent on Friday and who smacked six sixes in his 91-ball 121. Adil Rashid was never allowed to settle and struggled badly, taking one for 76 from his 10 overs. Stokes and Plunkett were still absent and the BCB carried the score to 260 for three.
Then Alastair Cook, here to acclimatise as he will miss the only Test warm-up due to the impending birth of a second child, wandered to a net by the boundary in front of a stand into which the spectators quickly shuffled to catch a glimpse of England’s record scorer in Tests. Perhaps Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper who had been drafted in to regain form, wanted to watch too as he edged the returning Stokes’s first ball and was caught brilliantly by a diving Jos Buttler.
England’s bowlers improved markedly thereafter and the final 10 overs produced a return of six for 49, with Stokes’ and Woakes’ canny variations exploiting the slow pitch.
In response Jason Roy and his new partner, James Vince, raced to 72 and then Ebadat Hossain entered the attack. Inside 12 months he has gone from a volleyball player with the Bangladesh Air Force to the fringes of the national side as a fast bowler thanks to a “pacer competition” which has been searching for local talent. In his first over Roy (who had hit towering sixes over square-leg and long-on) picked out the man at deep-midwicket. Vince proceeded to do as Vince continues to do, however. His 48 was littered with gorgeous cover-drives, front foot and back, before he chased a wide one from Ebadat.
From there the batsmen struggled with the pitch but they still accumulated with Ben Duckett – set for his debut on Friday – reverse-sweeping brilliantly then calamitously off the bowling of Shuvagata Hom, when the bat flew wildly from his hands, and the ball found a way through. Just when England needed it Moeen Ali (70), who it seems will remain down the order, and Buttler (80 not out) – both effortlessly elegant in their own way – calmly compiled 139 in 17 overs to ensure a flattering win. The tour, thankfully, is under way.
