Sport

England huffs and puffs to victory

S. Ram Mahesh

Bangladesh's left-arm spinners impress yet again

Bridgetown: England's drudged pursuit of 144 against Bangladesh convinced no one of the side's credentials to make the semifinals.

After confining Bangladesh — thanks in equal part to excellent new-ball bowling from Man of the Match Sajid Mahmood, the kind of fortune that gives itself up to teams once in a tournament, and the inability of Bangladesh's batsmen to adapt to the pace and bounce of the Kensington Oval strip — England laboured for 44.5 overs.

The batting effort did its Net Run Rate no good though it's higher than South Africa's; Michael Vaughan, the England captain, was relieved just to bag the two points.

"We were desperate to get the two points and be on our way," said Vaughan.

"We could have won it more convincingly by eight wickets, but you can see why Bangladesh has troubled a lot of the teams. The bowlers squeeze you well, Mortaza and the left-armer (Syed Rasel), and then their three left-arm spinners, who are a tough option to hit."

An ideal target

The chase of 144 should have suited England: Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff needed to find form, Andrew Strauss his feet. All three sought time in the middle. Vaughan's 30 was, he admitted, "30 more than I've been getting recently," but there were good signs particularly towards the end.

Coach Duncan Fletcher has said captaincy is affecting Vaughan: it was crucial for Vaughan to bat time if nothing else.

The work to leg where bat travels across front pad seeking ball is often an indicator of form and feel. The ball kept clunking into Vaughan's thigh pad, before he finally nailed the stroke. "I felt my feet were going nicely towards the end," said Vaughan, who top-edged a sweep to end his stay.

During Vaughan's 41-run partnership with Strauss, England looked like it might, with an increase in the rate of scoring, seal the match.

But, Bangladesh's left-arm spinners tightened the thumbscrews. It wasn't plain fired-in simplicity though all three showed they could resort to that tactic if needed.

A Rafique special

A Mohammad Rafique arm ball went through Flintoff like a VIP car through fawning security. It was a piece of treachery and skill. With a clubbed six and a malleted four through cover, Flintoff was beginning to make his peace with slow bowling when Rafique struck.

Soon, England was 110 for six. Was Vaughan nervous? "Yeah, a little bit," he said. "But Nico (Nixon) and Colly (Collingwood) used all their experience, and I thought we'd go over the line." Bashar, who kept up to seven men in the circle, including slip and bat-pad at one stage, said, "We knew it was going to be tough after making 143. We should have made 220 on that wicket.

"We didn't adapt well enough, and it was a bad toss to lose. But, we knew at that stage (110 for six), we needed another wicket because Nixon was the last (recognised) batsman. That's what we were trying, but Collingwood and Nixon batted very sensibly."

Maidens were strung together as a thrilling finish was teased, though never threatened. But, a Mortaza bouncer kicked off the surface for four byes, tying the scores. Then, Nixon managed to swivel another short ball behind square for the winning boundary.

England's effort in the field drew heavily from slapstick, the Bashar run out in particular.

"Oh," said Vaughan, the protagonist, before shading his eyes with his cap. "I was very embarrassed after dropping it, and just flicked the ball to Nico in embarrassment, and you sometimes get strange wickets."

Among weightier matters, Vaughan said he was encouraged by the fact that England won by four wickets despite not playing well. "We showed against Sri Lanka and, at times, against Australia that if we turn up on the day and play, we can compete against good sides. We know a lot more about the Barbados wicket, it's a tricky wicket, and it'll help us against South Africa."

SCOREBOARD

Bangladesh: T. Iqbal c Collingwood b Mahmood 8, S. Nafees c Strauss b Mahmood 9, H. Bashar (run out) 4, M. Rahim b Flintoff 7, S. Hasan (not out) 57, M. Ashraful c Nixon b Anderson 1, A. Ahmed c Nixon b Anderson 10, M. Mortaza b Panesar 13, M. Rafique c Strauss b Panesar 0, A. Razzak c Collingwood b Panesar 15, S. Rasel c Flintoff b Mahmood 4, Extras (lb-3, nb-2, w-10) 15; Total (in 37.2 overs) 143.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-23, 3-26, 4-40, 5-47, 6-65, 7-112, 8-113, 9-137.

England bowling: Anderson 8-0-30-2, Mahmood 8.2-0-27-3, Flintoff 8-0-38-1, Panesar 7-2- 25-3, Collingwood 4-0-14-0, Bopara 2-0-6-0.

England: I. Bell c Aftab b Rasel 0, M. Vaughan c Bashar b Razzak 30, A. Strauss lbw b Rasel 23, K. Pietersen c sub b Razzak 10, P. Collingwood (not out) 23, A. Flintoff b Rafique 23, R. Bopara b Rafique 0, P. Nixon (not out) 20, Extras (b-4, lb-8, w-6) 18; Total (for six wkts. in 44.5 overs) 147.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-48, 3-70, 4-79, 5-110, 6-110.

Bangladesh bowling: Mortaza 8.5-2-28-0, Rasel 10-3-25-2, Razzak 10-1-30-2, Rafique 10-3- 33-2, Saqibul 6-0-19-0.

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