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14th over: Bangladesh 59-3 (Tamim 29, Shakib 29) Jacks is varying his speeds well, alternating between darts and tossing the ball up above Tamim’s eyeline. A single brings Shakib on strike and he gets a welcome boundary with a rasping late cut.
13th over: Bangladesh 54-3 (Tamim 28, Shakib 20) Wood cranks it up to 91mph but is well worked off the hips by Shakib, the two batters snatch a brisk couple but are failing to find the boundaries and therefore England are firmly in control of this match.
Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have settled down into a nice rhythm after the loss of early wickets for Bangladesh. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty ImagesElsewhere in the cricket world:
12th over: Bangladesh 49-3 (Tamim 26, Shakib 17) Will Jacks into the attack and his first over is a beauty! Beating the bat and finding some decent fizz and grip with his slow tweakers. Just a couple off the over, the run-rate worm rearing up for Bangladesh.
11th over: Bangladesh 47-3 (Tamim 25, Shakib 16) Mark Wood replaces Curran, who has pocketed 3-19 off his first five overs. Wood keeps things down to just a few singles and fires one down at 89mph in his first over. He’ll crank that up over the next few.
10th over: Bangladesh 44-3 (Tamim 23, Shakib 14) An amazing sunset over Mirpur as Mahmood comes in for his fifth over. Tamim decides to throw everything at a length ball and gets a meaty edge that flies away wide of slip for four runs.
9th over: Bangladesh 38-3 (Tamim 19, Shakib 13) Curran loses his length and line for the first time and throws in a no-ball for good measure. The free-hit is stopped by a sprawling Phil Salt on the boundary, six runs taken off the over, Bangladesh calm things down after that frenetic start.
8th over: Bangladesh 32-3 (Tamim 17, Shakib 10) Shot! Tamim whips Mahmood off his toes with a real flourish, the ball racing to the mid-wicket fence.
Drop me a line if you are out there?
7th over: Bangladesh 26-3 (Tamim 12, Shakib 9) These two batters consolidate, picking up singles where they can and playing watchfully against Curran. Thanks to Simon for the update, let’s hope the home side can give the near capacity crowd (and the press box) something to cheer about.
Our man on the ground is Simon Burnton and he sends the below update:
“It’s a really big crowd today, dwarfing Wednesday’s attendance – Friday is obviously a weekend day here – and they’re a really noisy bunch. The match situation might be pretty dismal but the reaction to boundaries is deafening and the welcome for Shakib Al Hasan was similar. Dhaka is an extraordinarily noisy city and the SBNCS, as it’s known for short, on a big matchday is likewise.
The support inside the press box is only slightly less enthusiastic, which is quite the contrast to the decorum observed in England. They’re also very attentive hosts – having noticed that some of the English journalists didn’t appear to relish the food available to the media on Wednesday this time we were stopped from approaching the buffet and told to sit down while they fetched the Chinese they had ordered us (though the reason some didn’t dig in to everything on offer at their first lunch here was that they are vegetarians, a problem the Chinese chicken didn’t exactly solve). They have also, happily, sorted out the early air-conditioning issues.
What Bangladesh would really like from the English, sadly not in my gift, is an invitation to play over there – their last bilateral series in England was against Ireland three years ago, their next – this summer – is against the same opponents, and outside World Cups their last game against England in England was in 2010 – too long!”
Bangladesh fans show their support for the home side in Mirpur. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images6th over: Bangladesh 22-3 (Tamim 9, Shakib 8) Mahmood works up a sweat, he finds his spot and nearly has Tamim on toast. Bangladesh in survival mode, two runs added.
5th over: Bangladesh 20-3 (Tamim 9, Shakib 7) Nearly! Curran zips one past the edge again, beating a grasping Tamim. Tidy maiden from the titchy left-armer.
An email from Alex Cochrane:
Hi James, I wrote this earlier between innings, but after the first over I’m not sure if it is relevant any more…
Just trying to work out what a good score on this pitch is, given the score in the previous ODI. In December India lost twice here with a low scoring first game and a higher scoring second game. The first game was similar ish in terms of scores (or would have been without India being bowled out 30 runs short with 8 overs left). The second one was much higher scoring, with Bangladesh batting first and winning by 5 runs (albeit everyone was injured by the end). They scored 44/2 in the first 10 overs (compared to England’s 40/1 in this one) and 102/1 in the last 10 (compared to England’s 106/2 in this one). Bangladesh ended on 271/7 and it was the middle overs where England have the advantage – 56 v 27 in 10-20, 61 v 53 20 – 30, 62 v 47 in 30 – 40. Part of that is surely wickets (Bangladesh were 6 down in the 19th), but India’s chase (and I know they would have known what they were aiming for, so it isn’t the same) was still lower than England’s until they ran out of wickets and couldn’t get over in the last 10. That probably all means it is going to come down to whethe Scurran, Rashid and Ali can keep the middle 30 overs down to less than a run a ball and whether they can eek out wickets to make 100 in the last 10 more difficult. It also means you can probably go off and grab a cup of coffee and phone in the first 10 overs without missing anything important.”
Phone it in? Coffee? Pah! Not a chance Alex!
4th over: Bangladesh 20-3 (Tamim 9, Shakib 7) Mahmood isn’t getting the same movement off the pitch or in the air as Curran, a length ball is flayed away through the covers by Shakib for his first boundary.
3rd over: Bangladesh 14-3 (Tamim 9, Shakib 1) Curran looks threatening and is pitching the ball up but he’s picked off the pads for four by Tamim. Shakib arrives at the crease, he’ll need all of his greatness to get the Tigers out of this hole.
WICKET! Mushfiqur Rahim c †Buttler b Curran 4 (Bangladesh 9-3)Sam Curran is doing wonders for my lunch plans and scything through Bangladesh! His dander is well and truly up, perkily trotting in with those little cartoon strides. Mushfiqur plays at one he could have left and Buttler catches the edge, the batter burns a review in the process and then has to lope off when the DRS confirms his fate. England on one here.
Sam Curran celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahman. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/ReutersA reminder you can watch this series LIVE courtesy of the ECB:
Not that you can desert the OBO though, that would be plain wrong and WE CAN SEE YOU*
*We can’t**
**Sorry about that
2nd over: Bangladesh 9-2 (Tamim 5, Mushfiqur 4) An Alice-banded Saqib Mahmood shares the new ball after a year away from the international scene due to injury. Good to see him back. His slingy action looks much the same despite those horrible stress fractures in his back. A half-volley is punched through cover by Tamim but Mahmood responds with a beauty, beating the batter on the outside edge.
1st over: Bangladesh 4-2 (Tamim 1, Mushfiqur 3) NO HAT-TRICK. Curran gets it wrong and sends down a full bunger that is clipped away for three runs by Mushfiqur Rahim. What a start for England, Bangladesh on the ropes.
Najmul Hossain Shanto c Buttler b Curran 0 (Bangladesh 1-2)Two in two for Curran! Slight nip away with the new ball and a feather is swallowed by Buttler. One ball in the over to go, first over hat-trick anyone?
Sam Curran is on fire! Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesSam Curran is on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Litton Das c Roy b Curran 0 (Bangladesh 1-1)Gone! Curran slides one across Das and he pokes it in the air to Roy at point. Simple as that. England have their first and it’s a terrible start for the home side.
Sam Curran celebrates with Jos Buttler after taking the wicket of Litton Das. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/ReutersRight, time for Bangladesh to start their hunt of this target. Sam Curran has the new white ball and he looks like he means business. Play!
The Times They Are A-Changed:
Interesting half-time discussion on Sky on franchise leagues. Steven Finn recalls trying to put his name in the IPL auction early in his career and his application for an NOC “coming back with a big red X on it”
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) March 3, 2023 A smoooooth baton pass, thanks Taha for covering the bleary shift. Hello everyone! Cricket NEVER stops eh? The TV footage cuts to the studio where Steve Finn and Tymal Mills are both clad in white and talking about the proliferation of cricket. Mills explains how it is a constant juggling act being an international but also a franchise player, how the two can work together, or not, sometimes. Both are very articulate but due to their outfit choices all I can really here is the chorus of this:
Bangladesh need 327 from 50 overs to winThat didn’t seem like it was a 300+ wicket but England were excellent, with Roy (132 off 124 balls) leading the way. Buttler smashed 76, Moeen blasted 42, and Curran wasn’t too shabby either. Taskin Ahmed was excellent for Bangladesh early on in the innings, taking a three-for, though he did get hit for a few at the end. I’m going to sign-off now, with Jim/James/Jimothy Wallace taking over.
50th over: England 326-7 (Curran 33, Rashid 6) After two singles off the first three, Curran gets the big hit right, pulling Taskin over cow corner for six. He’s such a pure hitter of the ball. And then another six! A full toss this time round from Taskin and this one goes over long-on. England finish strongly – they’ve hit 107 off the last 10 overs!
49th over: England 311-7 (Curran 20, Rashid 5) Ouch! A beamer from Mustafizur strikes Curran’s hand – that’s got to be seriously painful. Curran recovers well, though, and is good to go on. The bowler then unleashes a gorgeous yorker to bowl Curran – but it was a free hit. Curran is then gifted with a full toss that he slaps through the covers for four. Mustafizur bounces back well, conceding three singles from the rest of the over.
48th over: England 303-7 (Curran 14, Rashid 4) Flair from Rashid as he flamboyantly cuts a leaping Taskin delivery for four to continue the late-innings havoc.
WICKET! Moeen c Das b Taskin 42 (England 299-7)A wild slash from Curran off Taskin leads to a thick edge that flies away to the third-man boundary. The quick curses his luck but celebrates moments later as Moeen bottom-edges the ball high into the leg side and into the hands of the man running in from the deep.
Moeen Ali is out for 42. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters47th over: England 294-6 (Moeen 42, Curran 9) Now it’s Curran’s turn as he smashes Mustafizur over his head for six more. OK, maybe a little more than 320.
46th over: England 285-6 (Curran 2, Moeen 40) Boom. Moeen gets on one knee to propose a six over midwicket off Mehidy – and his bat says yes. And then another one! The slog sweep packs a punch once again to send the ball into the stands. England should start looking at 320.