Post by Taxigirl on Oct 23, 2003 9:40:08 GMT
1st Test, Dhaka, day three (tea):
Bangladesh v England
Bangladesh removed Graham Thorpe on the stroke of tea to stay in the hunt on day three in Dhaka.
England limped to 267-8 for a lead of 64, with Thorpe stroking a vigilant 64 before falling to Mashrafe Mortaza.
Thorpe had added 41 runs for the seventh wicket with Gareth Batty, who was removed by Mortaza just two overs prior in a rousing period for the hosts.
England earlier lost Rikki Clarke and Chris Read in quick succession to slump to 225-6.
England emerged after the lunch break with reparation in mind after a top-order collapse and the loss of centurion Marcus Trescothick just before lunch.
The first hour of the afternoon was a dour, attritional affair, with Thorpe engaging in an absorbing battle with Bangladesh's two left-arm spinners and Clarke doing his best to support.
It was slow going but England's fifth-wicket pair were doing a serviceable job, adding 49 runs in 30 overs, before Clarke fell for the left-armer's three-card trick and was bowled offering no shot to Mohammad Rafique.
Clarke was not at home in the middle but he showed an admirable sense of application, something that could not be said of Chris Read in his cameo stay.
After eight balls impetuosity got the better of Read, who went reaching for Enamul Haque jnr only to be caught behind.
All the while, Thorpe was trading blows with the 16-year-old Haque in a fascinating battle between the master practitioner and the debutant 16 years his junior.
The left-hander drove Haque for four to move England into the lead 20 minutes after the resumption before lofting him down the ground for six.
But on this evidence Haque is a spinner of immense talent, and he tested Thorpe's renowned aptitude against spin with variety, flight and pronounced turn.
After losing two partners in quick succession Thorpe found an able ally in Batty, and one that was prepared to play his shots also.
Batty was no backnumber in the England's seventh-wicket stand, but he fell caught behind to the freshly introduced Mortaza for 19.
Thorpe then perished to a wicked short ball from the paceman - ending a dogged 171-ball knock - that was edged to Rajin Saleh in gully.
Earlier, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain fell to poor shots as England lost three wickets for three runs to stumble from 137-0 to 140-3.
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Bangladesh: Hannan Sarkar, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar, Rajin Saleh Alok Kapali, Khaled Mashud (Capt), Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque jnr, Mashrafe Mortaza Mushfiqur Rahman.
England: M E Trescothick, M P Vaughan (Capt), M A Butcher N Hussain, G P Thorpe, R Clarke, C M W Read (Wkt), G J Batty A F Giles, M J Hoggard, S J Harmison.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, E A R de Silva.