England in Bangladesh

Well that was entertaining. It wasn't very good cricket but it did have lots of twists and turns, although I suspect most people would have expected England to win if only because they have so much more experience of playing for high stakes at this level than Bangladesh. There have been criticisms of Cook that he reverted to his seamers to win the game at the end, but I think that actually shows how much his captaincy has matured. Three years ago he hadn't a clue what to do when Swann became ineffective, and mishandled Panesar, so had nothing else to go to but flogging his pace bowlers. This time he has shown adaptability, has not been afraid to follow what the oppositioin is doing if it seems to be effective, has generally got good results from most of his bowlers, and at the end played the option that was most likely to produce results.

It is too early to say whether Duckett will join the lists of Lyth, Hales, Robson et al as a discarded white hope, but he really needs to work on his technique against spin otherwise he will be an automatic wicket to fall cheaply in India. He and Ballance will probably get a second chance especially as Cook has not yet got into his stride and Root only partially, but Hameed should keep in practice for a call in the next few weeks. Meanwhile I cannot recall another England side with so many all-rounders, all of whom came off so frequently and to such effect: Moeen Ali, Stokes, Bairstow and Woakes all played big parts. Perhaps Australia in the early 60s with Mackay, Benaud and Davidson to shuffle from 6 to 9 had their measure technically, but poor old Wally Grout never aspired to a matchwinning or matchsaving innings.

The "experts" say there is little point playing two off spinners. Moin's batting means he is always going to play. Ansari adds even more batting depth and gives variation. I agree about Rashid not being up to it and I think his chances to impress are running out.

After the revelation that Tymal Mills derives his name from a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, the inclusion of two black power activists and a Trotskyite in Ansari's slip cordon is most interesting. CLR James would surely have approved. #blacklivesmatter

Not looking promising is it? As for India .... I think we should add an experienced batsman to the squad now. Off the top of my head perhaps Hildreth but somebody capable of playing a long innings. Currently the only alternatives to Balance are Hameed and Buttler.

Memo: Do not spoonerise the words "Duckett's Fifty"

I agree about Finn. They said they rotated Batty to look at Ansari. Pity they can't rotate Ballance back to England.

Congratulations to Bangladesh. They deserved to win and it was admirable that they did not let the disappointment of the narrow first test loss affect them negatively. I really hope that they get more test matches soon. I will be very interested to see how Australia get on if they tour next year. I suspect as badly as England. The one off test Bangladesh have against India will also be very interesting now.