That’s all for today’s OBO. It’s been a good day for England and particularly Dawid Malan and Reece Topley. I’ll leave you with Simon Burnton’s report from Dharamsala – bye.
Jos Buttler’s verdict
It was a really good performance to bounce back from a disappointing first game. We stuck to our guns and played the way we want to play. There are always areas you can improve as well. We’d like to have got a few more at the back end of the innings, although I thought it was a fantastic score on that pitch. For Dawid Malan to get a big hundred is just what you need, somebody to stand up after the first game.
One of the challenges of the tournament will be reading the pitch and the conditions [and deciding which bowlers to play]. We’ve got great options so we can go with a different balance of spin and seam. Reece Topley’s early wickets were fantastic when you’ve got a score like that on the board.
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The Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan speaks
It was a good toss to win and there was some help for the bowlers. We didn’t start well enough and if you give them a sniff, they will always come hard at you. They never looked back. We came back strongly in their last 10 overs but it was too late. And when you lose three early wickets, you’re not going to chase 365.
I say this with the utmost love for both: have England ever had a chippier opening partnership than Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan? I think there’s a filter for that on Statsguru.
If we all chip in and slag them off incessantly for the next six weeks, England will romp this tournament.
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The player of the match is Dawid Malan
It’s been a long journey to get to this stage, so to get here is fantastic and to help win a game is great as well. I don’t know what it’s down to, maybe experience, but I hope it can continue.
[You seem to have improved against spin] Mmnah, I think sometimes people create a narrative that isn’t there, to justify their own writing or views. [The ability to play spin] has always been there. Sometimes I play good shots, sometimes I play bad shots; that’s cricket.
Having Joe Root at No3, who is so consistent, allows us all to play with freedom and how we see fit on the day. We don’t have to second-guess ourselves.
Once I get in, I don’t like to give it away. Maybe it’s down to hunger. I’m desperate to do well in this format and win games of cricket; to prove people wrong and prove my point.
England win by 137 runs
It’s their biggest World Cup victory overseas (by runs), and a good comeback from that miserable day/night in Ahmedabad. The stars were two left-handers: Dawid Malan, who transferred his bilateral form to the biggest stage with a career-best 140, and Reece Topley, who took four for 49 on his World Cup debut. That included an innings-busting new-ball spell of three for 18.
England’s run-rate is back to black, +0.55. In short, it’s been a good day’s work.
WICKET! Bangladesh 227 all out (Taskin b Curran 15)
The match ends in unusual style, with Taskin bowled twice in as many balls by Sam Curran. The first didn’t dislodge the bails, despite thumping the leg stump, but the second cleaned him up to complete an emphatic victory for England.
48th over: Bangladesh 227-9 (Taskin 15, Mustafizur 3) Mark Wood ends a fine evening’s work, in which the only deliveries below 90mph were deliberate slower balls, with splendid figures of 10-1-29-1. That’s an impressive comeback from 5-0-55-0 against New Zealand.
47th over: Bangladesh 225-9 (Taskin 14, Mustafizur 2) Another harmless over from Curran, who hasn’t had his best day with the ball.
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46th over: Bangladesh 221-9 (Taskin 13, Mustafizur 0) There’s a case for resting Wood against Afghanistan on Sunday, though it will depend on the pitch and how he pulls up after the flight to Delhi. He’s been very good today – not just the fastest the bowler but also by far the most economical, with figures of 9-0-27-1.
WICKET! Bangladesh 221-9 (Shoriful b Wood 12)
Mark Wood is tasked with ending this defiant lower-order partnership. He needs precisely four balls: Shoriful misses, Wood hits with a 91mph stump-sizzler.
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45th over: Bangladesh 220-8 (Taskin 13, Shoriful 12) Apologies, a few technical problems there. You missed Shoriful slogging the new bowler Curran for a couple of boundaries. Rashid hared after the first and thought about diving before remembering where he was and how irreplaceable he is.
44th over: Bangladesh 209-8 (Taskin 12, Shoriful 3) Taskin is nothing if not a brawler, and he slog-sweeps Livingstone over square leg with feeling for six. Even in one-sided matches, and there have been a few so far, every team has net run-rate in mind. This isn’t 1999 you know.
“Interesting, while attending a dull school meeting and listening to a never-ending monologue by my head, to get a furtive glance at the cunning variations being proffered by Rashid and Livingstone, and follow the OBO,” says Colum Fordham. “Rashid’s wonderful googlies and orthodox legspin vs Livingstone’s eclectic mix of leggies and offspin. Both effective and promising for England’s prospects further on into the tournament.”
Don’t worry, my head does never-ending monologues too.
43rd over: Bangladesh 201-8 (Taskin 5, Shoriful 2) Rashid finishes with figures of 10-0-42-1. England probably can’t win this World Cup without him being near his best, and there were plenty of good signs tonight. His googly came out particularly well.
42nd over: Bangladesh 198-8 (Taskin 2, Shoriful 2) Shoriful chips Livingstone high over midwicket, with the ball plopping between the two deep fielders.
Sri Lanka finished on 344 for nine v Pakistan. Kusal Mendis’s barnstorming 122 from 77 balls was followed by an 89-ball 108 from Sadeera Samarawickrama. All the Pakistan bowlers took some tap, though Hasan Ali did at least pick up four wickets.
41st over: Bangladesh 195-8 (Taskin 1, Shoriful 0)
WICKET! Bangladesh 195-8 (Mahedi b Rashid 14)
An overdue first wicket of the tournament for Rashid. Mahedi pushed optimistically at a googly that ripped through the gate to hit the stumps.
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40th over: Bangladesh 191-7 (Mahedi 10, Taskin 1) Livingstone switches to off-breaks for the new batter, the left-hander Taskin Ahmed, and turns the first two balls past his outside edge. That’s a cracking first over from Livingstone, who will be feeling better about life.
WICKET! Bangladesh 189-7 (Hridoy c Buttler b Livingstone 39)
Liam Livingstone completes an ODI version of the king pair: he was out first ball when England batted and now he has struck with his first ball. It was a perfectly pitched legspinner to Hridoy, who fiddled outside off and got a thin tickle through to Buttler. There was bounce as well as turn.
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39th over: Bangladesh 189-6 (Hridoy 39, Mahedi 9) Rashid is again unlucky not to pick up his first wicket of the tournament. Mahedi is beaten, trying to slap the googly, and then cloths a straight drive just over Topley at mid-on. Figures of 8-0-35-0 don’t tell the story of a mischievous, menacing spell from Rashid.
“After not playing in the NZ shellacking, it’s great to see Reece Topley having some well-deserved success,” says Brian Withington. “I am also rather impressed with Mark Wood’s rhythm, accuracy and sustained pace. England are in danger of having a well-balanced and threatening bowling attack, an in-form upper order and Ben Stokes waiting in the wings. What can possibly go wrong?”
38th over: Bangladesh 186-6 (Hridoy 38, Mahedi 7) Wood continues, the ruddy-faced marvel. He looks spent, yet his pace is still consistently above 90mph. Hridoy drives sweetly for four, the first intentional boundary off Wood in his eight overs.
“Livingstone, I presume, will get a bowl at some point,” says Stephen Cottrell. “Wood is doing a great job but these thunderbolts will be needed in the next few weeks and LL has hardly had a spell. He needs to bowl, especially if Mo isn’t playing every week.”
Jos Buttler might try to massage his confidence by bringing him on when they get down to the bowlers. There’s an argument Nos 6 and 7 are England’s weakest link, so every run and wicket will help.
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37th over: Bangladesh 180-6 (Hridoy 33, Mahedi 7) Rashid replaces Topley, with Bairstow moving to slip. Mahedi slugs a flighted delivery to mid-on, where Topley drops a relatively straightforward two-handed catch.
Rashid is also seeking his first wicket of the tournament, though as with Wood his rhythm looks fine. This has been a good day for England – not just because the result but also the performances of several key players who struggled against New Zealand.
36th over: Bangladesh 176-6 (Hridoy 32, Mahedi 4) Wood is starting to look hot and bothered, so this might be his last over. He’d love his first wicket of the tournament but it doesn’t feel as important as it did for Woakes earlier in the day.
Hridoy jumps inside a sharp short ball, which leads to an unsuccessful appeal for caught behind, and there are just two from the over.
35th over: Bangladesh 174-6 (Hridoy 31, Mahedi 3) No five-for for Topley, but he finishes an outstanding World Cup debut with figures of 10-1-43-4. His new-ball spell of three for 18 in five overs, including a peach to bowl Shakib Al Hasan, scuppered Bangladesh’s run-chase before it had started.
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34th over: Bangladesh 169-6 (Hridoy 27, Mahedi 2) Wood – whose average speed today is a frightening 92mph – rams a bouncer past Mahedi’s nose. There’s no slip, which doesn’t impress the commentator Shaun Pollock, although Bangladesh have generally looked solid enough when Wood has pitched it up. Their problem has been the small matter of scoring runs. Wood has terrific figures of 6-0-18-0, and four of those came off the edge.
33rd over: Bangladesh 168-6 (Hridoy 26, Mahedi 2) Topley is one wicket away from joining an exclusive club: only Vic Marks, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn have taken five-fors at a men’s World Cup for England. Of those, only Vic ended on the winning side.
No fifth wicket for Topley in that over, but he does tighten England’s grip on this game by conceding only a couple of rums.
Bangladesh’s next game is against New Zealand in Chennai on Friday. England fly to Delhi to meet Afghanistan two days later, then they have almost a week off before a big game against South Africa.
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32nd over: Bangladesh 166-6 (Hridoy 25, Mahedi 1) Wood returns with a remit to blow away the tail. I’m not sure Mahedi counts as a tailender, mind: he has a highest first-class score of 177.
Mind you, even Australia’s finest didn’t enjoy facing Wood this summer, and Bangladesh can only manage two singles. They’ve barely played an attacking stroke against Wood, presumably deeming it too great a risk even when the required rate is 11 an over.
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31st over: Bangladesh 164-6 (Hridoy 24) That was the last ball of the over. Topley’s figures are delectable: 8-1-36-4.
WICKET! Bangladesh 164-6 (Mushfiqur c Rashid b Topley 51)
Mushfiqur tries to start the Bangladesh charge towards the finish line and falls flat on his face. After a series of low-risk singles, he suddenly slashed a short ball from Topley straight to third man, where Rashid took a comfortable catch. Mushfiqur goes for a decent 51 and Topley has four wickets on his World Cup debut. After all his injury problems, it’s a very nice moment.
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30th over: Bangladesh 160-5 (Mushfiqur 50, Hridoy 21) Mushfiqur drives Rashid down the ground to reach a sensible half-century from 61 balls. He has at least ensured that, if Bangladesh lose, their net run-rate shouldn’t be beyond salvation.
29th over: Bangladesh 155-5 (Mushfiqur 48, Hridoy 18) Hridoy clips a loose delivery from Topley for four. There’s no swing now so this is a very different game. With every run, those new-ball wickets look more vital; that may become a theme of the tournament, although the jury is out for now after India’s win on Sunday.
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27th over: Bangladesh 148-5 (Mushfiqur 46, Hridoy 13) Rashid is bowling nicely now, using all his variations. I know it’s easier to settle into a rhythm when batters aren’t unsheating the long handle, but this is still an encouraging performance. This is only game two and Rashid tends to improve as a tournament progresses. Okay, maybe not in 2021 when he took four for two in the first game.
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REVIEW! Bangladesh 146-5 (Hridoy not out 12)
Towhid Hridoy is given out LBW after playing around a googly from Rashid, but he reviews straight away and replays show a thin inside edge.
27th over: Bangladesh 144-5 (Mushfiqur 45, Hridoy 10) Reece Topley returns in place of Woakes and goes round the wicket to the right-handers. Mushfiqur gets a much-needed boundary off his last ball, pinging a lovely drive through extra cover.
26th over: Bangladesh 137-5 (Mushfiqur 39, Hridoy 9)
25th over: Bangladesh 135-5 (Mushfiqur 38, Hridoy 8) The pitch is getting more awkward as the balls get older, and Woakes is taking the pace off quite a few deliveries. This is a good spell from him, 3-0-12-1 now.
Sri Lanka are now 255 for four from 36 overs against Pakistan in Hyderabad. Sadeera Samawickrama is going well; he’s 62 not out from 53 balls. If it wasn’t for Hasan Ali, who took three wickets including the rampant Kusal Mendis, Pakistan would be in even bigger bother.
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24th over: Bangladesh 133-5 (Mushfiqur 38, Hridoy 6) That six from Litton Das aside, Rashid has bowled economically on a pitch that is offering little turn. Two runs from his third over give him figures of 3-0-17-0.
23rd over: Bangladesh 131-5 (Mushfiqur 37, Hridoy 5) Hridoy inside-edges Woakes wide of leg stump for a single. Wickets do wonders for a bowler’s rhythm, and Woakes is looking more like himself. Bangladesh need 234 from 162 balls. As asks go, it’s pretty big.
22nd over: Bangladesh 126-5 (Mushfiqur 35, Hridoy 2) Rashid continues and is milked for five singles. A good bit of analysis on Sky Sports shows that Buttler took a couple of steps forward before that slower ball from Woakes, without which the ball would not have carried, so he must have had a signal.
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21st over: Bangladesh 121-5 (Mushfiqur 32, Hridoy 0) That was the last ball of the over, and Woakes’ figures are starting to look a whole lot better: 6-0-42-2.
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WICKET! Bangladesh 121-5 (Das c Buttler b Woakes 76)
A double bowling change, with Woakes back on in place of Curran. I thought we might see Topley, who has been a much greater wicket-taking threat, and that’s why I’m not England captain: Woakes has made the crucial breakthrough!
Litton Das thin-edged a slower ball through to Buttler and stood, head down, before dragging himself off the field. He batted masterfully to make 76 from 66 balls, but his wicket leaves Bangladesh in big trouble.
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20th over: Bangladesh 116-4 (Das 74, Mushfiqur 29) Adil Rashid, another bowler who had a bad night against New Zealand and yes I know they all did, replaces Wood. After four singles from the first five balls, Das clumps a slog-sweep to wide long on for six. This is becoming a dangerous partnership; Bangladesh are essentially where Ireland were when Kevin O’Brien started to go berserk in 2011.
19th over: Bangladesh 106-4 (Das 66, Mushfiqur 27) When Mushfiqur first played at a World Cup, in the West Indies in 2007, Sam Curran was eight years old. Mushfiqur asserts his seniority with a couple of boundaries, a crashing drive through the covers and a very thick edge between point and backward point.
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18th over: Bangladesh 96-4 (Das 65, Mushfiqur 18) Wood continues to bowl with eye-widening pace. Das and Mushfiqur are surviving comfortably enough, but anything more than that has been a struggle. Wood’s figures are 4-0-15-0, and the only boundary he has condeded came off the edge.
“Exactly who is granting recurrent Ashes experiences for souls these days?” wonders John Starbuck. “Has the ECB or ICC been developing a new money-raising strategy with an Elysian time loop?”
Look, they’ve got to compete with Major League Cricket somehow.
There’s another World Cup game today, and Sri Lanka are pumping Pakistan all round Hyderabad. Kusal Mendis, fresh from a futile 42-ball 76 against South Africa, has just fallen for a pulsating 122 from 77 balls. Sri Lanka are 229 for three after 30 overs.
17th over: Bangladesh 93-4 (Das 64, Mushfiqur 16) Turns out Sam Curran averages almost 150 between overs 11-20 of List A games, and he’s not looking very threatening here. He’s not bowling badly; he’s just more dangerous when the ball swings and/or when batters unsheath the long handle.
That’s not the case just now, with Bangladesh are pretty much taking a single off every ball. Hence Curran’s figures of 4-0-24-0.
16th over: Bangladesh 87-4 (Das 60, Mushfiqur 14) Wood’s first ball after drinks is edged short and wide of slip for four by Mushfiqur. I’ve got nothing else for you, apart from maybe a couple of singles.
Meanwhile, here’s an important public-service announcement from our colleague Jim Wallace.
These are the most varied, eye-opening & entertaining podcasts on cricket you could hope to hear.
— Tom Holland (@holland_tom) October 10, 2023
Thrilled they are back for a second season… https://t.co/L5zjpL29Ij
15th over: Bangladesh 81-4 (Das 59, Mushfiqur 9) Curran bowls a wide to Mushfiqur, the first of the innings. Nothing much is happening at the moment – Bangladesh are picking up as many singles as possible to keep the run-rate in single figures.
That’s drinks. It does feel like England are cruising to victory, but then we said the same in 2011 when Ireland were five down and needed 215 from the last 25 overs.
14th over: Bangladesh 74-4 (Das 56, Mushfiqur 6) Das ducks under a sizzling, 94mph bouncer from Wood, whose rhythm looks as good as it is did during the Ashes. I’d cheerily sell what’s left of my soul to relive those seven weeks again.
Mushfiqur also ducks a bumper, then Das gets an inside edge just wide of leg stump. This is some hot hot heat from Mark Wood.
13th over: Bangladesh 71-4 (Das 54, Mushfiqur 5) Unlike in T20s, Sam Curran hasn’t quite found his role in the ODI side. It’d be interesting to see a breakdown on his ODI (and indeed List A) career by blocks of 10 overs. For now he is helping to push the required run-rate higher and higher. It’s now 7.94.
12th over: Bangladesh 68-4 (Das 52, Mushfiqur 4) Mark Wood is into the attack. He went the distance in Ahmedabad, going for 55 in five overs, but he should enjoy this pitch a bit more. His pace is above 90mph from ball one, a miracle of fast-twitch fibrousness, and Bangladesh are content with three low-risk singles. Das has 52 from 42 balls; Mushfiqur, who looks like he has net-run-rate somewhere on the brain, has made 4 from 11.
“You mention something called WinViz, sir,” says Ian Copestake. “Is Roger Mellie now sponsored by a betting company?”
11th over: Bangladesh 65-4 (Das 50, Mushfiqur 3) Sam Curran replaces Woakes, whose wicket-taking work is done for the time being. A short ball is pulled sweetly for four by Das, just a snap of the wrists to send it flying through square leg. A steer for a single takes him to a stylish, swaggering fifty from 38 balls. He is, in the parlance of our time, a proper player.
“Other than the place being a toxic cesspool owned by an immature megalomaniac who makes Trump look like a beginner,” says Krishnamoorthy V, “is there any other reason that you are not on TwiXter?”
Now that’s what I call a rhetorical question.
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10th over: Bangladesh 57-4 (Das 44, Mushfiqur 1) Bangladesh may be struggling but Litton Das is batting marvellously. He hooks Topley’s last ball over short fine leg for six, a shot played with dizzying handspeed. That takes him to 44 from 35 balls; the rest have 11 from 25 between them. And four of them are out.
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9th over: Bangladesh 49-4 (Das 37, Mushfiqur 0) These early wickets have given England a chance to undo the damage that was done to their run-rate by New Zealand. Bangladesh need 316 from 41 overs.
WICKET! Bangladesh 49-4 (Miraz c Buttler b Woakes 8)
That’s what England wanted. Woakes has Miraz caught behind with a beautiful delivery, full and straightening to take a thin edge as Miraz launched into another cover-drive. Buttler could easily have made a change after Woakes’ last over went for 14, but he held his nerve and now Woakes will feel his tournament is under way.
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8th over: Bangladesh 46-3 (Das 34, Miraz 8) Bangladesh continue to push for runs, knowing it’s the only chance they have to make WinViz doubt itself. Five from Topley’s over, including one mistimed bit of violence from Miraz. Had he connected properly with that, it would have gone miles.
“Not two wickets in his first World Cup over, but Steven Finn did take a hatrick in his first WC match (v Aus in 2015),” says Louis Wood. “England still got hammered though.”
I’d forgotten that was his first World Cup game. I’ve tried to forget most things about that tournament.
7th over: Bangladesh 41-3 (Das 30, Miraz 7) Miraz pings Woakes uppishly over cover for four to get off the mark. It wasn’t a great shot but he is a dangerous player, whose batting has improved beyond recognition since the start of his career, and he gets three more with a controlled cover drive.
Das adds to Woakes’ frustration by flicking through midwicket for four and then three. Fourteen from the over. Woakes has figures of 4-0-34-0 and 10-0-79-0 in the World Cup so far. Everyone stay calm.
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6th over: Bangladesh 26-3 (Das 22, Miraz 0) The new batter is Mehidy Hasan Miraz. There are two right-handers at the crease now, Topley having taken care of three lefties. That sound you can hear is me scrambling to find the best bowling figures on World Cup debut.
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That really was a beauty. Shakib, Bangladesh’s captain and best player, was beaten all ends up by a classic delivery: angled in, then straightening dramatically to ping the off bail. Topley, on his World Cup debut, has figures of three for five!
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WICKET! Bangladesh 26-3 (Shakib b Topley 1)
Reece Topley has bowled Shakib Al Hasan with a rare old jaffa!
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5th over: Bangladesh 26-2 (Das 22, Shakib 1) Slightly too full from Woakes, and Das drives beautifully to the cover boundary. He’s such an eye-catching player.
4th over: Bangladesh 22-2 (Das 18, Shakib 1) I wonder if any other England bowlers have taken two wickets in their first World Cup over. Nobody comes to mind.
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Das is not out. Yep, it pitched well outside leg so England lose a review. That was a bit of a waste.
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England review for LBW against Das!
3.5 overs: Bangladesh 21-2 (Das 18, Shakib 1) Topley strives for the glory ball and is flicked for four by Das. That aside he has been superb, getting movement and bounce. Das is hit on the glove by a kicking nipbacker, then survives a big shout for LBW after pushing around an inswinger. Jos Buttler decides to review. My hunch is it pitched outside leg.
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3rd over: Bangladesh 17-2 (Das 14, Shakib 1) This is an important day for Woakes. Nobody of sound mind is suggesting he should be dropped, at least not yet, but he needs to get into this tournament as soon as possible. He was poor against New Zealand and his first over went for 12. His second is much better – just three singles and a nipbacker that Shakib almost drags onto the stumps.
“What are everyone’s thoughts about the still-fairly-recent-to-my-eyes extra fielding restrictions when the fielding side reaches the cut-off?” wonders Neil Withers. “I think it seems a reasonable response - better than run deductions etc - but whether it hurries teams along remains to be seen. HOWEVER, how could we transfer it to Tests? My modest proposal is to remove a fielder every 15 minutes after the cut-off. That should liven things up.”
I quite like this ODI experiment, though I don’t know what you can do in Tests. If you start taking fielders away it will encourage timewasting (from the batting team), dissent and the kind of tedious navel-gazing, small-print-scrutinising so common in other sports.
The over-rates in the Ashes were as poor as I can remember; it was also the most life-affirming series I’ve watched since 2005. I’m not belittling the issue, which clearly matters, but surely the best thing would be to get all the Test captains in a room with a few members of the ICC Cricket Committee. In reality that’s impossible because of a much bigger problem: the schedule.
2nd over: Bangladesh 14-2 (Das 12, Shakib 0) Topley tries to bowl Shakib round his legs with the hat-trick ball. It does fool Shakib and thumps into the pad, but it would have missed leg stump. Even so, that’s a helluva start for Topley, playing his first white-ball World Cup of either code at the age of 29: two runs and two wickets.
WICKET! Bangladesh 14-2 (Shanto c Livingstone b Topley 0)
The balance of England’s attack is so much better with Topley in the team, not least because he’s a new-ball specialist. And now he’s on a hat-trick! Najmul Hossain Shanto chases a full outswinger and edges to backward point, where Livingstone reaches to his right to take a good two-handed catch.
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WICKET! Bangladesh 14-1 (Tanzid c Bairstow b Topley 1)
It turns out new-ball specialists take new-ball wickets. Reece Topley, back in the side today, strikes with his fourth ball when the young left-hander Tanzid Hasan edges an outswinger straight to second slip.
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1st over: Bangladesh 12-0 (Das 12, Tanzid 0) Woakes starts with two slips for Litton Das, Bangladesh’s senior opener in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. He has become a fine player, who almost put India out of the World T20 single-handedly last year, and he carts Woakes for three successive boundaries!
Das watched the first two balls of the innings go past his off stump, then decided to get stuck in. The first boundary was a wristy pull, the second a slightly uppish square drive and the third a handsome pull that bounces just inside the rope.
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Thanks Tanya, morning everyone. The players are back on the field, and Chris Woakes is hopefully about begin his World Cup proper.
England’s slow down at the end felt sharp – and the stats prove it: 68-7 from the last 10.3 overs. Not that I think it will matter – except possibly for NRR matters further down the line.
Richard Hutley is in Tuscany, poor chap: “Following your usual OBO wearing my old “is it cowardly to pray for rain” t shirt outside my local bar here and I’ve just spent 15 minutes trying to explain the concept to the locals. Needless to say it lead to a lot of confused faces.”
Thanks for all your emails and sorry for those I didn’t get a chance to publish. Handing over now to the one and only Rob Smyth, who is also neither in Tuscany nor the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. Bye!
I take back everything I said about Manchester, the sun is now shining in a milky blue sky. Something for the ICC/ECB to ponder:
England v Bangladesh is too rare a fixture. Last time Bangladesh played a bilateral game in England was 2010 and there are none in current FTP. There's a huge Bangladeshi population in the UK and the game is striving to reach different communities.
— Nick Hoult (@NHoultCricket) October 10, 2023
Nicely hauled back by Bangladesh in the end, when it looked as if England would sail past 400. Magnificent from Dawid Malan, a fourth hundred in the calendar year, who has good news for his bowlers. “It got a bit slower as it went on. So hopefully it will get slower in the sun…Keep the stumps in play, we’ve got every chance to bowl them out.” Good biffing from Bairstow too, without every quite looking in complete touch, and a superb stealth 82 from Root.
Bangladesh will need to break an unlikely record to overhaul England.
Bangladesh will need 365 to win (7.3 an over)
50th over: England 364-9 (Wood 6, Topley 1) Taskin collects a wicket and only concedes six from the final over as Woakes smears four and Topley sprints one in his cameo performance of four balls.
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WICKET! Woakes c Mahedi b Taskin 14 (England 362-9)
Woakes hoofs to backward point where Mahedi collects with both hands.
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49th over: England 358-8 (Woakes 10, Wood 6) Rashid sweeps four to bring up the England 350, before losing his wicket. Wood cover drives his second ball to the rope.
WICKET! Rashid c Shanto b Mahedi 11 (England 352-8)
Smart relay catch by Bangladesh! Rashid’s biff is well caught by Hridoy, who is about to be carried over the boundary by the momentum, so tips the ball to Shanto. The fielders celebrate their cleverness.
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48th over: England 346-7 ( Woakes 10, Radhid 5) Woakes picks up his first boundary off Shoriful’s last ball. Bangladesh are behind the run-rate so must have an extra person inside the circle for the last two overs. Nasty.
47th over: England 337-7 ( Woakes 5, Radhid 1) In the dug-out, Moeen is reading a book and Stokes rocking Liam Gallagher style shades and greased back Denis Compton hair. Nicely done by Mahedi, who also restricts England to four from the over. It seems daft to talk about a collapse when England have 340 on the board, but since the loss of Root, they have lost 5 for 38 in just over seven overs.
WICKET! Curran c Shanto b Mahedi 11 (England 334-7)
Fabulous catch in the deep by Shanto, caught by a running Mahedi at long off low down on the dive, as Curran tries to whip the ball to the boundary. A disappointed Curran lifts his head to the heavens and trudges off.
46th over: England 333-6 ( Curran 11, Woakes 2) The stadium now filling up nicely as Shoriful manages to restrict England to four from the over, Curran ducking under the last-ball bouncer.
45th over: England 329-6 ( Curran 8, Woakes 1) From the ridiculous to the sublime for Mahedi, who gifted Brook a full toss, which he slammed for four, before foxing him with a slower ball. England’s lower order finding it more difficult to slam quick runs from a standing start.
WICKET! Brook c Das b Mahedi 20 (England 327-6)
Nicely taken at long off by Das as Brook launches into another juggernaut but is deceived by a slower ball
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44th over: England 323-5 (Brook 16, Curran 7) No hattrick for Shoriful, Curran pouring cold water with a nipped two from the hat-trick ball, but bowling coach Allan Donald watches approvingly from the sidelines. Curran, legs set in a wide stance, drives a punchy four.
43rd over: England 317-5 (Brook 16, Curran 1) Two boundaries for Brook off Mustafizur, a drive through long-off, then a cramped pull. Meanwhile in Hyderabad, Sri Lanka have won the toss and will bat.
42nd over: England 307-5 (Brook 7, Curran 0) Surprise bounty for Bangladesh, and 400 now looking less likely for England. Shoriful on a hat-trick with his next over.
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WICKET! Livingstone b Shoriful 0 (England 307-5)
Two in two! Livingstone looks outraged – as he choses the wrong line and loses his off stump.
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WICKET! Root c Mushfiqur b Shoriful 82 (Englnd 307-4)
Root goes to flick more bounty, but gets an edge to a knuckle ball and sends it skywards. The waiting Shoriful collects with the gloves.
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41st over: England 303-3 (Root 82, Brook 5) England have never scored 400 in the World Cup before. They’d need ten an over…. Bangladesh, in the meantime, are two overs behind the rate. No boundaries off Mustafizur.
“I’m kinda worried how close the advertising hoardings (mainly advertising terrible things) are to the boundary.” writes James Walsh. “Fielding has come on leaps and bounds in the T20 era; someone could get seriously injured here.” That’s a good point actually – planet-busting advertising with added limb-injury potential.
40th over: England 298-3 (Root 80, Brook 1 )Bangladesh get a break with the wicket of Buttler, who had batted like a man with a point to prove. Attack, attack, attack. Not much relief though, with the entrance of Harry Brook. Though he is off the mark with a delicate single.
WICKET! Buttler b Shoriful 20 (England 296-3)
Nicely done by Shoriful, a slower ball which Buttler, winding up for a cream bun, drags into off stump.
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39th over: England 290-2 (Root 78, Buttler 15)Mustafizur returns. Don’t think it is going to be the most fun he’s had on a cricket field. But there’s an ugly slice from Buttler which falls between the two fielders sprinting towards it. Root slots his final ball for four – 11 from the over, 11 overs left – England heading for 400.
Dave Manby writes: “Whilst I was in Manchester yesterday, grey, a phone call from home NWales reported “a stunning day” in Llangollen. Is Manchester, “the only
city where you can wake up and hear the birds cough”?”
38th over: England 279-2 (Root 73, Buttler 9) Mahedi, with a military moustache, is zipped for four by Malan before picking up his wicket. Buttler arrives and proceeds to smash six straight down the ground from his second ball. The sprinting fielder slams into the boundary board trying to catch it. Root then joins in, going over the mid-off who had just been brought in, for four more.
WICKET! Malan b Mahedi 140 (England 266-2)
Malan goes for another heave into the legside, all twisted body, and loses his off stump. Super innings – just 107 balls, 16 fours, fives sixes, and an innings to change the mood in the England camp.
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37th over: England 262-1 (Malan 136, Root 69) Malan flambes a huge six off Taskin, about 10 rows back, well caught in the crowd. Tries to repeat the shot next ball, but can’t get the purchase. Taskin does well to restrict England to just singles from the rest of the over – they look greedy for more.
36th over: England 251-1 (Malan 128, Root 67) Root brings up the 250 with a step and slap for four off Shoriful, straight back under the bowler’s nose.
“Has there ever been a more underrated cricketer, or indeed sportsperson, in England than Malan?” asks Simon McMahon. “Collingwood, maybe? Steve Bruce? Nick Faldo? All unfussy, get the job done types.”
So true. I’d also throw Fatima Whitbread into the mix.
35th over: England 239-1 (Malan 128, Root 55) Two wides from Taskin don’t improve Bangladesh’s mood. Root and Malan take a very sharp single, but Malan makes his ground. A run-out honestly looks Bangaladesh’s best chance of a wicket at the moment.
Simon Burnton drops me a line from his gorgeous temporary home: “Excellent call-and-response singing of the intro of Gloria Estefan’s Rhythm is Going to Get You in the stands between overs there.” I remember Gloria being a popular cover star on Smash Hits magazine in the 80s.
Fifty for Joe Root!
34th over: England 232-1 (Malan 127, Root 51) Typically easy-breezy furtive fifty from Root, off just 44 balls. Gets there with a pull for four off Shoriful Islam. Malan turns the last ball of the over for four more. Bangladesh at a loss here.
“Good morning Tanya.” Hello Brian Withington – I wondered where you’d gone.
"Your contrasting reference to grey Manchester mornings had me briefly imagining that the Guardian had not stumped up the fare to get you along in person to Dharamsala (as well as Simon Burnton)! The very idea that the OBO might be compered from afar via Sky’s TV coverage has quite chilled me to the quick.
What’s that they say about making laws and sausages …”
I’m not saying a word. But the recent research showing that Manchester and Burnley were the joint greyest places in the UK has had me fantasising about blue skies. I’ll just wallow in my carbon footprint.
33rd over: England 221-1 (Malan 122, Root 45) In case it tickles you, the oldest man to score an ODI century for England outside World Cups is… Geoffrey Boycott. Malan drops to his knees and slog-sweeps the spindly Miraz for four, followed by a huge six into cow corner. Six more follows, straight down the ground to bring up the 100 partnership, off 90 balls. And a glorious lofted drive makes it four consecutive boundaries and 22 from the over.
A hundred for Dawid Malan!
32nd over: England 199-1 (Malan 101, Root 44) On the pitch they pause for drinks, but us TV viewers just get a envy-inducing tour of Dharamsala. Malan grabs a borderline risky single off Shakib’s second ball to become England’s oldest male World Cup centurion at 36 years and 37 days. He overtakes Graham Gooch, who was 34 and 105 days when he swept India out of their own World Cup in 1987. Malan pulls off his helmet and allows himself a gentle smile, richly applauded by his teammates round the ground. A man in sublime form hits a sublime century.
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31st over: England 193-1 (Malan 99, Root 40) Softly, softly, catchee monkey as Malan eases his way through the nineties.
30th over: England 187-1 (Malan 95, Root 38) Three singles from the over on a perfect day in Dharamsala.
29th over: England 184-1 (Malan 93, Root 37) Malan cuts Mahedi Hasan to enter the 90s.
Hello Guy Hornsby: “Morning Tanya, a good start by England here. I know people will start talking NRR at some point but really it’s W we need and we can worry about that later. It’s a long tournament and it’s better to have had that performance at the start than the end. If we can put 330-350 on we should be okay here. It’s just such a shame grounds are not full and there’s so few non-Indian fans to see the games, let alone the treatment of Pakistan. It’s hardly a global tournament when you see that.”
Yes, the rotten delay for getting visas for the Pakistan team has been matched by a total lack of them for Pakistan fans. This is a good read over breakfast:
28th over: England 177-1 (Malan 87, Root 36) More delicate deliciousness from Root as he darts to reverse-sweep Shakib for four. Grinning, he then leans back to slingshot four more, landing just short of the rope and springing over.
27th over: England 165-1 (Malan 84, Root 27) Mustafizur’s seventh over seems to be progressing sedately until Root’s switch suddenly flicks and he bends balletically and whisks six over fine leg.
26th over: England 155-1 (Malan 82, Root 19) Malan looks as if he’s broken the temporary shackles with a lofted drive, but a surprising dive by the fielder prevents four, leaves a big dent in the pitch and Towhid shaking his hand.
25th over: England 149-1 (Malan 78, Root 17) At halfway, England have a very handy platform. Malan in effortless form, Root watchful after getting off the mark with that straight drive for four. Just a couple of singles squeezed off Mustafizur’s sixth over.
24th over: England 147-1 (Malan 77, Root 16) Just four singles from Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
23rd over: England 143-1 (Malan 75, Root 14) Ooof, Root pulls out very late and Mustafizur half goes through delivering the ball, tumbling in his follow through and looks in some trouble on the ground – seems to be the right ankle. After some attention from the physio, he gets back up and with a flex is ready to bowl. A leading edge from Root goes high but just short of the fielder. A good over from Mustafizur – just three from it.
I’m so in love with the bright red pavilion, which is straight out of Toy Town. In fact the whole colour palette of the stadium is the perfect antidote to another grey Manchester morning. Throw in a perfect sky, cedar forests and the Himalayas for a heavenly scene.
22nd over: England 140-1 (Malan 74, Root 12) Shakib again applies the brakes – but he’s only got three overs left. Some lovely crowd shots – though it is tricky to know exactly how full -or not- the stadium has got. Lots of joy from those who have got tickets anyway.
21st over: England 136-1 (Malan 71, Root 11) Root morning energy: a sublime straight drive for four off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, though he is nearly caught and bowled off the next ball. And the smell of fresh coffee wafts in from the kitchen.
20th over: England 128-1 (Malan 69, Root 5) Shakib not impressed by some lack-lustre fielding at deep point, the fielders’ minds scrambled by the outfield. Malan picks up four.
19th over: England 123-1 (Malan 65, Root 4) The Malan flick! He pulls it out again, disdainfully dispatching Taskin over mid-wicket for four. Root deftly accumulates.
18th over: England 115-1 (Malan 61, Root 1) Shakib waves his arms around in delight to see the end of Bairstow who was dangerous without ever hitting his fluent best. Earlier in the over, he’d been beaten by one tossed up by Shakib.
WICKET! Bairstow b Shakib 52 (England 115-1)
Fabulous bowling by Shakib, wh0 planted the bait earlier in the over, and this time a leaden footed Jonny is done by a faster one and loses his leg stump.
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17th over: England 113-0 (Bairstow 51, Malan 60) Shoriful returns, but his first two balls are zipped for four by Dawid Malan, through backward square leg and with a dab south of the keeper. A wide doesn’t add to Bangladesh joy. Bairstow chews gum vigorously at the non-striker’s end
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Fifty for Bairstow
16th over: England 102-0 (Bairstow 50, Malan 51) A lot to think about for Bangladesh during that drinks interval, and Shakib duly fizzes in. No boundaries, at least, but, the hundred partnership comes up off 95 balls, and, with a clip, there’s a third World Cup fifty for Bairstow, this one from 54 balls.
“Morning Tanya, Morning All.” Hello Em Jackson!
“I appreciate the impact tourism has on the North-Eastern parts of India such as Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim, but surely these are the places that the ICC/BCCI should be practically giving the tickets away to get people in the stadium and bringing in £££?
”More than anything I want to visit Eden Gardens, Kolkata, but after that, HP, Jaipur, Puducherry....and if I could have had a cheap day at the cricket to add to the package, great stuff.
“On the game though: England steady here but be good for the game if Bangladesh can keep pressure on throughout else where are we in terms of “growing the game”?”
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15th over: England 98-0 (Bairstow 47, Malan 50) More spin from Mahedi, Bairstow tucks in with a punch through deep extra, and a flick of a full toss for four more. And they pause for DRINKS.
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Fifty for Dawid Malan!
14th over: England 89-0 (Bairstow 38, Malan 50) A pushed-single to deep square brings Malan his fifty off just 39 balls: seven fours and two sixes. A fluent affair, the more at-ease batter, Bairstow jerkily moving between first and fifth gear.
13th over: England 84-0 (Bairstow 36, Malan 48) Big Jonny, always glancing suspiciously over his shoulder at the field, slams Miraz through the covers for a steaming four. On the balcony, Buttler and Topley chew the fat.
12th over: England 77-0 (Bairstow 31, Malan 46) Malan purrs on, this time reverse-sweeping Miraz for four to enthusiastic cheers from smartly dressed schoolchildren.
11th over: England 69-0 (Bairstow 29, Malan 36) More spin, and Miraz zips through his over, with four dots, and two fours, to show for it as Malan expertly guides the ball through backward point and mid-on and over the rope. The fielders’ reluctance to dive on an outfield where the ground staff were seen scattering grass cuttings for aesthetic reasons earlier this morning, is helping England gather the boundaries.
10th over: England 61-0 (Bairstow 29, Malan 3w) Shakib, in florescent yellow trainers, takes his turn in the final over of the power play. Just two from it.
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9th over: England 59-0 (Bairstow 28, Malan 31) Time for spin with Mahedi. Bairstow doesn’t take long to get his bearings, slamming the second ball through the covers for four. Later in the over, Malan gets in on the act, squelching – with the toe end- down the ground for four. Buttler will be very pleased with this run-rate: 6.44 with power to add.
8th over: England 49-0 (Bairstow 23, Malan 26) Moeen dashes out with some drinks for the batters, who will be happy with their work. Shoriful Islam is cut with typical brio by Bairstow for four.
7th over: England 43-0 (Bairstow 17, Malan 26) The crowd seems to be filling out now, just in time to see Malan pick up ten in two balls – a short pie from Mustafizur bashed into the crowd and full toss send scurrying straight.
And another welcome email, good morning Praneet Bvn: “Regarding the lack of crowds , I recently went to the Netherlands v Pak game where the official attendance was 9000 (40,000+ capacity), but Hyderabad is a huge cricket loving city, I think the ticketing system is a total mess cause there were people outside who wanted to get in but there was no where to purchase tickets as the match had already started. I couldn’t believe it, The ground was completely empty and yet we couldn’t buy the tickets.
“I think tickets should be available to public atleast till the start of 2nd innings and as Nasser said BCCI should think about giving away tickets to matches with less than 50% occupancy.”
Interesting, thank you. The ticketing does seem to have been something of a momumental cock-up.
6th over: England 31-0 (Bairstow 16, Malan 15) The England train is accelerating out of the station. Shoriful Islam’s first delivery of the day swings potently into Bairstow’s pads, Hawk Eye says pitching – just – outside off. YJB finishes the over with another bounding four through mid-off.
“Morning Tanya,” Morning James Walsh!
“Have dog drama here too, aka being woken by a sad Vizsla climbing into my bed, after his owner left early for a work trip (am on dog and baby sitting duties).”
“Dharamsala a gorgeous and surreal vista from pre-dawn Tooting. I felt England didn’t need to panic after the New Zealand game; I won’t be saying the same if they flunk this one too…”
That’s a large bed companion, hope he left you some space… and yes, a loss here would be problematic.
5th over: England 25-0 (Bairstow 11, Malan 14) A huge shout for caught behind off Mustafizur’s first ball, but Malan looks unmoved, and so does the umpire. There’s a noise, but it turns out it came off Malan’s shoulder not willow. Wow! The reprieve seems to have done Malan good as he cover drives for four then effortlessly pick up six almost into the big screen, as if tossing a discarded sweet wrapper over his shoulder - the litter lout.
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4th over: England 15-0 (Bairstow 11, Malan 4) On a two-paced pitch, just the one boundary off the over as Jonny pulls and swings Taskin lustily for four on a two paced pitch.
3rd over: England 11-0 (Bairstow 6, Malan 4) Just one from the over, as both Malan and Bairstow play and miss at Mustafizur. On the radio Steven Finn muses that “anything back of a length or on a good length is pretty difficult to score off”. Do send me an email or two with your morning coffee.
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2nd over: England 10-0 (Bairstow 6, Malan 4). The tall Taskin, navy blue napkin tucked into his trousers waistband, zips in. Bairstow bashes his first ball through the covers for four.
And more news from Simon, perhaps explaining why the ground is so sparcely populated:
The stands are pretty empty as the anthems ring out. I was on a flight here from Ahmedabad with the ICC’s venue manager, who told me this game was completely sold out, so I’d expect the crowd to grow through the day. A couple of breathless reporters have just arrived - they had a slightly longer journey from up in Mcleod Ganj and let it a little late. Apparently there is complete gridlock on the streets into and around Dharamsala - when they were told it might take two or three hours to get to the stadium they got out and walked.
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England innings
1st over: England 5-0 (Bairstow 1, Malan 4) Mustafizur has the new ball; Bairstow, playing in his 100th ODI, blocks the first delivery safely away. A quick single gets the score ticking over, before a pressing Malan is beaten twice. A gorgeous cover drive from Malan brings four, with the fielder resolutely not diving to save it.
And I’ve just discovered an earlier scene-setting email from our man on the ground, Simon Burnton:
Good morning from Dharamsala. There are five entrances to this wonderful ground (the inside, at least, is wonderful - outside is a bit of a mess) - four are fairly standard, being just off a road, but the one the media have to use is Gate 3, which is a journey in itself. It involves being dropped (unless you happen to be staying nearby the only way to get here is by taxi) at the entrance arch to the Government College of Dharamsala, walking past the School of Business Management (under construction), past the library building, past the Government College campus, past Sahil Girls PG (a girls’ hostel), past a few grazing cows, past an amazingly picturesque football pitch and finally down and into the ground. Last night there was a pretty wild thunderstorm in Dharamsala - I was unaware, happily listening to music on my headphones and reading my book, until the hotel started shaking - and the view of the Lower Himalayas behind the ground is clearer and more stunning this morning than at any time since England arrived on Friday, so expect the professional photographers to get some decent images this morning.
Reece Topley stands next to Adil Rashid for God Save the Queen, looking as if he could swallow him in one mouthful. Jonny Bairstow struts to the boundary edge to pick up his gloves, and here we go!
The teams are out on the – troublesome – outfield, which has been passed as fit despite its soft and sandy underbelly. Eoin Morgan suggests that the captains will have told the players not to dive. Bangladesh’s jaunty national anthem rings out first. Not many in the ground yet, with its beautiful alternate blocks of turquoise and yellow seating.
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Apologies about that, the dog was demanding to be let out of the kitchen. Get back with a cup of tea in time to see Nasser, Athers and Wardy filming a bit of travelogue in utterly gorgeous Dharamsala.
Teams: Bangladesh XI
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
One change – Mahedi Hasan for Mahmudullah.
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Teams: England XI
England: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Brook, Buttler (wk, capt), Livingstone, Woakes, Curran, Rashid, Wood, Topley.
One change – Topley in for Moeen Ali.
Bangladesh win the toss and will field
On a gorgeous-looking day, with the snow-sprinkled mountains overlooking the ground. Jos Buttler says he would have fielded first too.
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Preamble
Good morning! We’re in Dharamsala today (well, the teams are) where England (one game, one thrashing by New Zealand) face Bangladesh (one game, one easy victory over Afghanistan). Bangladesh have slipped England a few banana skins in the past, notably 2015 when England bid farewell to a dismal tournament by losing to Bangladesh by 15 runs, and they are more than capable of tossing another under the reigning World Champions’ trainers.
England are expected to swap in Reece Topley on a pitch that suits seam, though Bangladesh’s spinners gathered three wickets apiece here against Afghanistan. But perhaps most pressing is the state of the soggy, boggy pitch, which Jos Buttler called poor’ telling the press that he was crossing his fingers that ‘no one picks up an unfortunate injury’. Play starts at 6am, I’ll be here for tea and the toss at 5.30am BST. See you here!
