Chittagong: Bangladesh beat England by 2 wickets in this tenth ODI held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong . It was yet another defeat for the English side that had lost to associate members Ireland just a few weeks prior. Bangladesh inch closer with this victory to the quarterfinals, making group B the group to watch out for this world cup, while England will require quite a recovery to have any chance of taking the cup this time around.

England went into this game weak, with three changes to its side. Stuart Broad was ruled out of the side for the world cup with a side strain. Left-hander Eion Morgan replaced Kevin Pietersen who also suffered an injury. Paul Collingwood was back in the side for the first time in the tournament. As for Bangladesh, Mahmudallah was brought into the side in place of Mohammed Ashraful, and what an important decision that was to be! Bangladesh soon found out.

The Banglas got things right from the start, with captain Shakib Al Hasan winning the toss and putting the opposition on to bat. This was a good decision, considering the dew factor that came into play later. A new opening pair, Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior, started the proceedings for England. The side got to a fairly reasonable start with the opening pair but was abruptly pruned due to the silly dismissal of Prior. He was stumped after the ball went down the leg side for a wide and seemed stupefied, as he walked back to the pavilion. Strauss too followed shortly, edging the ball to a slip fielder.

Trott and Morgon then brought some stability into the England innings, with both scoring fifty each. The recovery seemed almost complete until Morgan got out caught due to a blinder taken by opening batsmen Kayes. Trott continued the momentum for a bit after the fall of Morgan till he too perished. England, though had a couple of small partnerships, were low in terms of run-rate. The side was around 170/4 at the end of the 40 overs, going at just above 4 runs an over.

To recover, the English batsmen began to play attacking shots to gather as many as they could. This, however, did not turn out planned, as the side kept losing wickets without scoring much runs. Collingwood, back into the side after a long break, tried his best to help but found it difficult to adjust to the conditions so late in the game. England finally was wrapped up for 225 runs, giving Bangladesh a real chance to win this game.

The Bangladesh side got a cracker of a start, with Tamim Iqbal stroking the English bowlers all across the park. It was not until the 8th over that England got some  relief from this onslaught. Iqbal was dismissed by Bresnan, which left a pin drop silence in the stands. By then, however,the damage had been done, with the team posting a 50-run mark in the 8th over itself.

Bangladesh too lost wickets in quick succession like the English. Captain Shakib Al Hasan brought some stability, with opener Kayes at the other end who was playing an anchoring role for the side. And the matched seemed almost over, until the partnership was broken by a runout causing the fall of Kayes who had looked in fine form so far in the innings. Ajmal Shahzad got then got England back in the game with some fine bowling, taking a couple of quick wickets. Bangladeshis were left speechless, as they went from 155/3 to 170/8.

It seemed all but over for the Bangladesh team at this point. The supporters too had lost heart and many began to make their way to the exit. And then, in a surprise move, Shaiful Islam hit a six off Swann straight into the stands. Bangladesh now needed 37 runs off 42 balls. Islam and replacement Mahmdullah, though under tremendous pressure, kept their cool. Post settling into the crease, the duo went on fire, putting the pressure back on the English. The crowds started roaring again and in the end,with a fine four, Islam wrapped it up for the team. Quite a win, this one!

Summary:

Bangladesh 227 (Kayes 60, Hasan 32, Shahzad 3-43) beat England 225 (Trott 67,Morgan 63,Islam 2-29 ) by 2 wickets.

Man of the Match: Imrun Kayes

Shakib was dumped just a day after being appointed skipper and will instead serve as Mortaza’s deputy on the tour, Bangladesh Cricket Board official Enayat Hossain Siraj said.

Mortaza had been appointed captain for the tour of the West Indies, but suffered a knee injury and was replaced by Shakib, who went on to lead the side to victory in both the Test and one-day series against the depleted rivals.

“Mashrafe was our captain during the West Indies series. But then he suffered injuries. So we are now bringing him back to his former position,” Siraj said.

The official claimed that Shakib had voluntarily stepped down to concentrate on his cricket.

But assistant coach Khaled Mahmud, a former Bangladesh captain, admitted he was surprised by the decision to change captains a few days before the team was due to depart for England.

“Before Shakib became captain, the selectors always said that if Mashrafe could get fit, he might be able to take the job again,” Mahmud told Cricinfo. “I’m not sure if it’s the right or wrong move, but it’s been a tough time for Shakib, whose recent performances, particularly with the bat, have not been up to standard. It’s important for Bangladesh that he performs well, and perhaps the pressure of the captaincy is too much. He’s still young, while Mashrafe is more mature.”

Under Shakib, Bangladesh lost a home Test series against India and were beaten both at home and away by England. They also fared poorly in the recent Asia Cup in Sri Lanka where they lost all three matches.

Shakib, 23, was recently ranked as the leading all-rounder in international cricket, and he was Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker in the course of their four Tests against England, claiming 17 scalps with his left-arm spin at 36.94. However, his batting fell away badly both in England and at the subsequent Asia Cup, with few glimpses of the ability he had showcased in making his maiden Test century against New Zealand earlier this year.

The timing of the handover is really not ideal for Bangladesh cricket, especially given that Shakib and Mashrafe had a fallout during England’s ODI series in Bangladesh back in March. Mashrafe went wicketless during his comeback match at Dhaka, before walking out on the squad ahead of the second ODI – apparently to be by the side of his ailing mother, but in reality because he was about to be dropped.

“The way Mashrafe bowled before his injury, that Mashrafe we might have missed tonight,” said Shakib, in the aftermath of a narrow two-wicket defeat in the second match. “But the way he bowled in the last match and the practice match, not really. He needs some time to get back to full confidence and rhythm. He needs to play some games and get match-fit again.”

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, had also made a blunt assessment of Mortaza’s form during the recently-concluded Asia Cup. Mortaza took only two wickets at an average of 77.00 and an economy-rate of 8.25 in three matches. “He’s going to have to improve a lot on his current form,” Siddons had said. “Unfortunately, there’s no ready replacement for Mashrafe at the moment, we’re hoping his experience will pull him through. We’ll keep looking for others and if Mash can’t stand up we’ll have to replace him.”

Bangladesh are due to play three One-Day Internationals against England and two each against Ireland and Scotland on the tour, which starts on July 3.

Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Faisal Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel.

The Tigers suffered a 2-0 series defeat after being dismissed for 123 to surrender the second Test in Manchester by an innings and 80 runs. Bangladesh lost all 10 of their wickets inside a session twice in the match and their Test record now reads 59 defeats in 68 matches.

However, Australian Siddons believes those two collapses shouldn’t detract from the improvements made by his team, especially the free-flowing play of Tamim Iqbal, who smashed two centuries in the series.

“Whatever they say we’ve heard it before, no doubt about that,” Siddons said. “When conditions are good and not doing too much we are competitive with any team in the world and can take them to five days. But we haven’t got enough match-winners to win the games yet. We’ve got a couple of players who are standing up but others aren’t and we need consistency. I definitely want to carry on. I’d love to go back and do their academy and make sure the next group of players isn’t getting smacked around like this group. I’ve had two years of developing cricketers I didn’t think were ready and now I’ve got three or four and a couple getting closer.”

Bangladesh now travel to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup tournament before returning to England for a three-match one-day series next month. After that it could be some time before Bangladesh are back in England with no Test series yet earmarked in the next decade of the future tours programme.

Siddons added, “We’ve got some improvements to make. I’d hate to come back here and put that performance up next year. We need to be better and it takes time to get people ready for that type of swing bowling. We have good things to work on, that’s what makes coaching this team such fun. You have to pick them up all the time but to their credit they keep coming back.”

Tamim was unsure whether his attacking style might need to be modified when he began his Test career, but the left-handed opener has been in fine form over the last few months after being told by Siddons to go with his natural instincts.

The 21-year-old has responded to the Australian’s advice with five half-centuries in six Test innings against England, with his last innings being a brilliant second-innings hundred at Lord’s last weekend.

“When I started playing Test cricket I was in two minds whether to go slow or go fast — and originally I decided to go slow,” Tamim said. “It was not working for me. The first 10 Tests were not good — I think I only got two fifties. The coaches told me to play like I do in the ODIs and enjoy my batting — ‘We will not say anything to you’.”

“I know the way I bat sometimes looks fantastic, sometimes looks ugly, especially if I try to smash the first ball and get caught in the slips, but I am happy with the way I play my natural game. If I don’t score, that’s fine with me because I want to play like this,” he added.

Bangladesh eventually lost the first Test but will have been encouraged by their gutsy display heading into the second Test, which starts at Old Trafford on Friday. Although they have won just three of 67 Tests, Tamim remains optimistic they can spring a surprise in Manchester.

“Our main strength in bowling is spin, and there was nothing in the wicket at Lord’s,” he said. “So we hope Old Trafford will be better for us. We have (captain) Shakib (Al Hasan) — who is one of the best in the world — and if he bowls well we can do better.”

There was a considerable amount of sledging seen in the first test but Tamim feels that as long as he is batting well and frustrating the opposition with his bat, sledging won’t bother him.

“There was some chat (at Lord’s),” he said. “But that was just part of the game — and anyway I like to talk when I am batting. It happens in every match, and I was loving it.”

Shakib’s comments came on the same day as a British newspaper report which featured a county cricketer claiming he was approached by an Indian businessman seeking to fix the result of televised domestic one-day matches.

Shakib, asked about cricket corruption ahead of the first Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday, said he once reported an incident to the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

Shakib told reporters at Lord’s that a suspicious individual approached him ahead of the 2008 one-day series at home to Ireland, suggesting he wanted to be the all-rounder’s sponsor. Shakib reported the incident to the ACU and said he never heard from the individual again.

“It was a long time ago. Two and a half years ago. Only once, he called me, and I told the guys. That was it. I didn’t talk to him much because we had a team meeting to go to, so I told him ‘I’ll talk to you later – and immediately told a member of the board and the ICC guy (the late Colonel Noor of Pakistan who was then a member of the ACU), they took action and after that he never called me again. We didn’t have time to discuss all the things, and what I should do,” Shakib said.

“I took the phone, and the way he spoke, he never exactly told me he wanted me to fix a match, he just told me he wanted to be my sponsor or something like that,” Shakib added. “The way he was talking, I thought he might do something, so I told someone. There was no name, and no amount was discussed. I can’t speak for anyone else, but as far as I’m concerned my head wasn’t turned at that time.”

“What I feel is I am not caring about money. I want to play for my country, that is a great pride for me, and I want to continue to do well for my country. As far as my family is concerned we are settled enough to lead our lives, so I am not concerned about those monies. If I play well for the next ten years, the money will come and I won’t have to worry about it,” he said.

Shakib’s disclosure came on the day a seasoned county cricketer made a shocking revelation that an Indian businessman had approached him to fix one-day matches in English domestic cricket.

A report in The Daily Telegraph said a player, who has more than 10 years’ experience in English cricket, was approached to quote “his own price” and that “things are already happening in county cricket”.

The player, who remains anonymous, has reported the incident to authorities and the Professional Cricketers’ Association would be contacting the ICC’s ACSU on the player’s behalf, the report said.

“They basically told me I could name my price for providing them knowledge of the result of the game and they made me believe other counties are already involved,” the player was quoted as saying in the report.

The revelations come just weeks after Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria and Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield were arrested and bailed as a result of an investigation into alleged spot fixing – the practice of paying a player to perform a certain task such as bowling a number of wides.

The four-nation tournament will see the hosts Sri Lanka competing with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 50-over format of the game.

The tournament, which carries a prize money of 200,000 dollars, was first held in 1984 in Sharjah. “Funds raised from this tournament will be utilised to support and develop the game in the Asia region,” ACC chief executive Syed Ashraful Haq said in Colombo. “We are already seeing good progress in Afghanistan and Nepal.”

The tournament gets underway with Sri Lanka taking on Pakistan. Each team plays the other once in a league format after which the top two sides meet in a final. There is also a provision for three reserve days during the league phase, and one for the final. All matches are day-night fixtures.

Sri Lanka are the current holders of the Asia Cup, having beaten India by 100 runs in the final of the 2008 tournament in Karachi.

India and Sri Lanka have won the trophy on four occasions each, while Pakistan won it in 2000.

Schedule:

June 15: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan

June 16: India vs Bangladesh

June 17: Reserve day

June 18: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh

June 19: Pakistan vs India

June 20: Reserve day

June 21: Pakistan vs Bangladesh

June 22: India vs Sri Lanka

June 23: Reserve day

June 24: Final

June 25: Reserve day

Ashraful has had a horrific run of form in the last couple of years, failing to register a half-century in his last 13 international innings. He skipped the recent one-day series against England, instead opting to try to regain form in domestic first-class matches.

However, it didn’t quite work out well for Ashraful, as a string of low scores in domestic cricket and a no show in a warm-up game against the tourists cost him his place in the Test squad as well.

Left-arm pacer Syed Rasel also returned to the side after missing out on the New Zealand tour and England series, while left-arm spinner Mohammad Sohrawordi and batsman Jahirul Islam retained their places in the Twenty20 squad.

Bangladesh will play against defending champions Pakistan and unseeded Australia in Group A of the ICC World Twenty20.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Jahirul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel and Mohammad Sohrawordi.

Hasan, just 22, hit an unbeaten century and a half century in the three-day practice match against England and was a certainty to feature against the visitors in the first Test match beginning in Chittagong on Friday.

“He wrote a letter to us this morning, withdrawing himself from the Test series against England. He also announced his retirement from all forms of cricket,” Bangladesh Cricket Board director Jalal Yunus told AFP. “It has stunned us. He is a brilliant cricketer and has played two superb knocks against England just days back. Coach Jamie Siddons and Raqibul’s parents tried to change his mind. But he is adamant.”

Hasan made his Test and one-day debuts in 2008 and has played seven Test matches and 41 one-day internationals. He is the only Bangladeshi player to have hit a triple century in first class cricket.

The 26-year-old speedster had suffered a knee injury on Bangladesh’s tour of the West Indies in July and subsequently missed the home one-day series against Zimbabwe. All-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan led the side in his absence in both the series. Under Shakib’s leadership, Bangladesh not only won the home series against Zimbabwe but also registered their first ever overseas series win beating West Indies on their home turf.

“A selection from the 26-member squad of the preliminary national team camp will play a practice one-day match against Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday, December 26, 2009,” a release from the BCB said.

“He (Mortaza) has started bowling in the nets,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Rabeed Imam. “He’s confident he will be able to play the tri-nation and Test series. We will get a clear picture on December 26.”

Shakib-Al-Hasan was named his deputy. The tri-series, involving India, Sri Lanka and the hosts, begins in Dhaka on January 4. It will be followed by two Tests against India at Chittagong (January 17-21) and Dhaka (January 24-28).

The contracts of 13 national team players have also been renewed till November 30 next year. These include Mortaza, Shakib, Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Syed Rasel, Junaid Siddique, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah and Enamul Haque jnr. The fresh contract will be effective from December 1, 2009.

It was also decided during the BCB meet that IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, of which Mortaza is a part, will be playing three exhibition Twenty20 matches against a select BCB team between February 1 and 5 next year.