Fast-bowler Tim Bresnan suffered a stress fracture of his left foot during England’s comprehensive victory at Lord’s and has been ruled out, meaning England must change a winning team. Their general preference in recent times has been to go with six batsmen and four bowlers.
If they stick with that policy Ryan Sidebottom, now at Nottinghamshire, and the uncapped Ajmal Shahzad face a shoot-out to replace their fellow Yorkshireman.
But there were times when, with the old ball and the sun out, England’s four-man attack looked laboured at Lord’s, even though fast bowler Steven Finn took nine wickets on his home debut. That may encourage England to field a five-man attack and dispense with a batsman, in which case Ian Bell’s place may be under threat. However, England coach Andy Flower said during the Lord’s Test, “I think the bowlers themselves would acknowledge they have not performed as they would have liked.”
Although this latest defeat meant Bangladesh have lost all seven of their Tests with England, there were encouraging signs for the Tigers in the performance of the top order, notably opener Tamim Iqbal’s dynamic century and in a five-wicket return for fast bowler Shahadat Hossain.
Bangladesh’s Test record stands at three wins from 67 Tests but the pitch at Old Trafford also has a reputation for taking turn. They have several spinners in their side, although England off-break bowler Graeme Swann will want the pitch to stay true to form too. “Our main strength in bowling is spin, and there was nothing in the wicket at Lord’s,” said Tamim Iqbal. “So we hope Old Trafford will be better for us. We have Shakib Al Hasan - who is one of the best in the world - and if he bowls well we can do better.”
Published in the Express Tribune, June 4th, 2010.
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