Ashington's Wood returns with success

Nottinghamshire 320 and 145 for 5 (Wood 3 for 36) trail Durham 471 (Smith 153, Wood 58) by six runs
Scorecard

There was a time when a match-turning contribution from an Ashington fast bowler was commonplace at Durham. Though with Steve Harmison's decline, such days have been had been consigned to the past.

But here Mark Wood, playing only his third Championship match - coincidentally, all have been at Trent Bridge - followed a career-best performance with the bat with a spell of 3 for 11 in 22, with all of his scalps a Test batsman. Describing himself as "a family friend" of Harmison and a product of the same Ashington club, Wood has the rare gift of pace that earmark him as a cricketer of rich potential.

He can bat, too. He defines himself as a bowling allrounder but, earlier in the day, reached his maiden Championship 50 with a pulled six and dominated a last-wicket stand of 71 in only 12.2 overs with Graham Onions. It was a partnership that not only extended Durham's lead to 151 but may well have had a deflating effect on Nottinghamshire's morale.

But on a wicket that has, at times, appeared painfully flat - the return of the heavy roller is far from universally popular among county spectators - it was Wood's incisive bowling that may have had the greatest impact. Wood, by some distance the sharpest bowler on display in this match, belied the easy-paced surface to persuade Ed Cowan to nibble one angled across him, trap James Taylor attempting to play a straight one through square leg, and then, most impressively, have Samit Patel caught off the glove as he tried to deal with a bouncer. It was a spell that cut through the Nottinghamshire top order and provided Durham with an excellent opportunity to claim their second win of the season. Nottinghamshire resume on the final day with half their second-innings batting dismissed and still trailing by six runs.

Such was Wood's contribution, he could well be forgiven for questioning why he has not played more regularly. On his last appearance, here last August, he claimed 5 for 78 to help his team to a 16-run victory, but then found himself dropped for the next game.

"I'm pleased to be here," Wood said afterwards with a smile. "It seems to be the only place a get a game. Of course I was disappointed to be dropped last year. But I understood the reasons. We have a good attack who had done really well so when Ben Stokes came back I missed out. Hopefully this time, if I get a couple more wickets, I can make my case even stronger."

Wood was quick to admit he was building on foundations laid by Will Smith. Smith, who batted for 505 minutes for his 153, blunted the attack at their freshest and the pitch at its most helpful to establish a platform from which the lower-order could build. It paid a higher dividend than even he can have hoped, though, when the last five Durham wickets added 323 runs to the total. He finally fell, caught at mid-on, after he attempted to whip Patel's left-arm spin through midwicket.

"Smith has been the difference between the sides," Wood said. "And he's the reason we're the favourites in this game. He showed great concentration and the work he did made it much easier for me."

While Wood led the way in the last-wicket stand, punching Patel for one lovely four through mid-on and carving Graeme Swann over extra cover for another, Onions also played his part. He thumped one back past Stuart Broad and drove Swann square as Durham kept Nottinghamshire in the field for 157.3 energy-sapping overs.

But it is Wood's bowling that may, in time, be of interest to the national selectors. He is not particularly tall or strong-looking but, from a short, straight run with an unusual start - a pronounced push off his back leg which, he says, is a technique learned from sprinters - he generates impressive, skiddy pace. He can reverse swing the ball, too, and showed an encouraging cricketing brain when talking about his wickets.

"We had just got the ball reversing when Cowan edged that one that left him," he explained. "With Taylor, we put the man behind square for the pull and, when we had him expecting the short ball, I pitched it up. And then with Samit, I hid the ball so he couldn't tell which way it was going to swing and then surprised him by bowling a bouncer."

Gareth Breese, who had already contributed a useful 44, followed up with the wicket of Steven Mullaney - surely the only cricketer with Hooters as a bat sponsor - sharply caught off a fine arm ball, while earlier Alex Hales, back when he should have been forward, lost his middle stump.

Michael Lumb, timing his drives sweetly on either side of the wicket, remains and looks in good touch, but he has a great deal of work ahead of him if Nottinghamshire are to salvage a draw from this game.

At least Nottinghamshire had encouraging news of their England players. Broad bowled with increased pace and purpose on the third day. He finished with his third successive four-wicket haul in successive innings and would not have been flattered by a fifth. Just as importantly, he reported no adverse reaction to his 31 overs and confirmed that he would take a full part, with bat, with ball and in the field, in the remainder of the game.

Swann came through unscathed, too. While he finished without a wicket, he did see two chances go down off his bowling - he was the guilty party on one occasion - and was the most economical of the Nottinghamshire bowlers. Perhaps there were a couple more full tosses than we are used to but, bearing in mind it was his first bowl in competitive cricket since the elbow operation, this was a pleasing return.

Read More..

Chopra matches Trott's class

Warwickshire 276 for 4 (Chopra 87, Trott 87*) v Sussex
Scorecard

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren't enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed, featuring an England spinner with 164 Test wickets against two of the most reassuring sights in England's Test batting line-up - and another man who might, in time, join them there.

Jonathan Trott is often depicted as a dour Mr Dependable, but his unbeaten 87 included several shots that, had they could from any other bat, would have elicited purrs. A respectable off-stump delivery from Andrew Miller was emphatically dispatched over long on for six; the next ball, a refined late cut went to the boundary too. It was not a sight that Sussex's skipper Ed Joyce, who had shelled a hard, but eminently catchable, chance in the slips when Trott had 1, would have relished.

Trott had a familiar ally in a 131-run stand with Ian Bell, who was captaining Warwickshire in place of Jim Troughton, missing with a shoulder injury. Grown men may still have nightmares about Bell's shot first ball in Ahmedabad - caught at mid-off attempting to harrumph the ball out of the ground - but it would seem that Bell is not one of them: he shimmied down the wicket to his seventh ball, from Chris Nash's offspin and lofted him over mid-on for four. There were a few further examples of graceful footwork later against Monty Panesar.

While Bell and Trott are two Test batsmen of the highest order, it was to Varun Chopra's great credit that he looked barely less assured at the crease. Playing attractively, especially on the offside, it was a matter of considerable surprise when Chopra fell for 87 attempting to cut Chris Nash's useful offspin, and was so denied a century to go with his match-saving effort at Taunton last week. But he had still made his mark, becoming the first man to pass 500 runs for the season, and must have eyes on the batting Holy Grail of a thousand before the end of May.

Nick Compton, the man who almost passed that landmark last season, is now an established Test player, and it looks eminently possible that Chopra, 25, will become one too: an extra cover drive off Panesar was timed with the crispness one would associate with an international player. There are legitimate questions over whether elements of Chopra's game - principally his tendency to play with his bat away from his body and occasional dalliances with driving uppishly - would be a hindrance at Test level, but if he continues to score with such proficiency an opportunity will be forthcoming.

While a knee injury cost Sussex their premier fast bowler, Australian Steve Magoffin, Chopra still had to encounter a highly disciplined attack: even on a flat track in near-perfect batting conditions, Sussex limited Warwickshire to under three runs an over.

Panesar was typically probing but endured a disappointing day, seldom threatening his England team-mates and, attempting to find the rough outside legstump, even delivering two leg side wides in one over. He has now claimed only one wicket for 238 runs so far this season.

That Sussex ended on near-parity, despite the serenity with which England's Test batsmen played, owed to Chris Jordan. Jordan may have begun his Sussex career with 6 for 48 at Leeds but, if anything, he was even more admirable here, consistently hostile throughout the day. A fiery spell with the second new ball earned the rare distinction of claiming Bell fending off a short ball and he promptly claimed nightwatchman Chris Wright too. Bell later said "it's certainly a different game if you hit the pitch that bit harder", suggesting that Warwickshire intend to replicate the method that earned Jordan his success.

Jordan should have had another wicket, too, but Mike Yardy shelled Tim Ambrose in the slips in the day's final over. No one begrudged him a quick visit to the beer festival after play.

Read More..

Waller confirmed as Zimbabwe coach

Andy Waller, the former Zimbabwe batsman, has been confirmed as the country's new head coach. He will take up his post after the Bangladesh tour.

As revealed by ESPNcricinfo Waller will replace current acting national coach Stephen Mangongo with Mangongo becoming Waller's assistant.

Waller, 53, played two Tests - both against England - and 39 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1987 and 1997. He became coach of Namibia before being appointed Zimbabwe coaches manager in 2009. He then joined Midwest Rhinos as head coach before coming to the UK to work at Eastborne College.

"Waller takes over the reins at a time when the demands on our performance are very high," Zimbabwe Cricket Board chairman, Peter Chingoka, said. "We are confident that the strategy he presented to us and his unique style of coaching will yield positive results."

Waller said he had high expectations: "We have a busy calendar of tours and our performance needs to start reflecting the preparation that goes into these games. My long-term focus is to build a team of the future and I am looking forward to working with the boys."

Read More..

Brewer to revisit Nursery End deal

Derek Brewer, the MCC chief executive and secretary who arrived at Lord's a year ago, will next week discuss a new offer from Rifkind Levy Partnership (RLP) for the development of the Nursery ground.

RLP outbid MCC in 1999 for the head lease on the disused railway tunnels that run inside Wellington Road at the northern end of Lord's. They have been attempting over the past 14 years to build apartments - and lately a hospital building - at the Nursery End in return for a cash offer to MCC. This has amounted to £100 million plus £10m to the cricket charity Chance to Shine. The latest offer, which Brewer says he will "forensically" examine, is £75m for a reduced development, enabling the club to retain 66 car parking spaces and a compound for television crews.

The property developers have also stipulated that there would be no encroachment on the Nursery ground, which MCC believes to be "sacrosanct". Mike Griffith, the club's president, has been particularly adamant that this area, the club's second ground, should be retained purely for cricketing purposes. This is also a stipulation of the ECB for allocating major matches.

The original development committee, which was wound up in controversial circumstances in 2011, advocated that flats could still be built if the Nursery ground, traditionally played on by Cross Arrows and other assorted sides, was enlarged. The thinking was that it could enable Middlesex to play one day matches there and hence prevent over-use of the main square.

The fact that the Victorian tunnels, still in good condition, fell out of MCC's control has led to much contentious debate, resignations and sackings over a six-year period. The original development committee, including 11 eminent members such as Sir John Major, Mike Atherton, Tony Lewis and Lord Grabiner, worked in conjunction with RLP to come up with a £400m proposal for a wide-ranging redevelopment. The "Vision" for Lord's.

As Brewer emphasised at the annual meeting, clubs like Hampshire and Lancashire are now particularly well run and present a threat to MCC's continuing staging of two Test matches a year. Various members suggested that an offer should be made to RLP for the head lease of the tunnels, but Oliver Stocken, MCC's chairman, has been told that they are not for sale. Hence the dispute is set to rumble on. Nick Gandon, formerly the director of Chance to Shine and the leader of the requisitionists seeking to stage a special general meeting that would examine the termination of the "Vision" is still set on collecting the necessary 180 signatures of members.

Given that the club's 18,000 members will not be presented with a full proposal by the club for another year, they will have time to mull over whether to accept any offer that will be made direct to them.

Robert Leigh, MCC treasurer, says there is no need to sell off what he terms "the family silver". The members now have to decide if they would prefer to take this particular form of a pot of gold.

Read More..

Essex look to Cook for assistance

Hampshire 197 and 77 for 2 lead Essex 254 (Napier 74, Cook 59) by 20 runs
Scorecard

Such is the professionalism of the England team these days that there has never been a higher expectation that when England players return to their county sides in the Championship, they will deliver. That was certainly the case for Joe Root in Yorkshire's victory at Durham and here, Essex need Alastair Cook to bring some stability to their season.

Cook's status, as England's captain, could hardly be more proven. He strolls around Chelmsford with an easy charm which tells of achievements already secured and challenges to come. Essex value his presence all the same as they seek to arrest a disturbing start to the season.

Halfway through this match, Hampshire, strongly fancied for promotion, have edged to a lead of 20 runs, their second innings creeping along at two-an-over. They lost Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams to David Masters' new-ball spell, Carberry falling to a fast catch by Ben Foakes off the meat of the bat at forward short leg.

It would be understandable if Essex, an innings defeat against Northamptonshire still fresh in the mind, are already hankering after Cook to produce a matchwinning response in the fourth innings. He will be back with England in a flash, but at the moment temporary assistance is welcome.

Cook batted in an orderly fashion as if intent upon gently attuning his mind to the approaching demands of two back-to-back Ashes series. He proceeded without much ado for more than four hours - 176 balls for 59 - before James Tomlinson found a little swing around leg stump and had him lbw.

"It's been Alastair at his most restrained," observed one Essex member as she gazed over the sunlit River Cam at lunchtime. The observation came with a wistful sigh as if she would like to mother him. She sounded like a proud parent, recognising that her offspring had grown up and gone on to better things, but half wishing she could have held back the clock.

At 73 for 6, Essex were in a pickle, the score doing little for the well-being of Paul Grayson, the coach, who was unwell. But Cook stayed on long enough to add a few appealing condiments. The bracing ingredients came, though, from Graham Napier, who struck 74 from 105 balls to give Essex a useful first-innings lead of 57. Their last four wickets added 181.

Napier lost his T20 world record for six-hitting last week when Chris Gayle struck 17 in one knock in his IPL rampage for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Napier had hit 16 for Essex against Sussex Sharks in 2008 and Essex actually delayed a practice session at Northampton to watch Gayle take his record.

Napier felt obliged to pronounce himself "a bit gutted", which is presumably even worse than gutted, on the grounds that some of the bones are left in, but he is an easy-going, uncomplicated sort who will not fret that he has lost part of his place in cricket history - he still jointly holds the first-class record for most sixes in an innings. He found the going strikingly easier than anybody (at least until Tim Phillips hit with gusto for 40 from at No. 10), although there was only one six, a pick-up over midwicket off the left-arm spinner Danny Briggs.

Over lunch the first sun warning of the summer was given on the Chelmsford public address. These are routinely made on county grounds whenever the temperature creeps above about 14 degrees. No sooner was the announcement made than the sun went in and a chill wind took hold again. Such warnings are probably just as well when Cook bats because famously he never sweats and could presumably create a misleading impression. It is a wonder Health & Safety have not banned him because of it.

Read More..

Harris suffers recurrence of hamstring injury

James Harris, the Middlesex seamer, has aggravated the hamstring injury he picked up during the opening Championship match of the season and has been ruled out for another two weeks starting with the local derby against Surrey this week.

He picked up the original problem against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge during his first-class debut for Middlesex, but had been passed fit to return against Cambridge MCCU last week where he took four wickets in the game and struck an unbeaten 43.

He then played in a friendly 40-over match against the Unicorns, the team made up of players without professional deals that will compete in the YB40, during which he felt further problems with his left hamstring

Angus Fraser, Middlesex's managing director, said: "Everybody at the club feels sorry for James who is desperate to get his time at Middlesex off and running. But we are all confident that this is just a minor setback and that he will have a major role to play in our season as it develops.

"At the moment we have the fast bowling resources to cope with James' injury and it will be great to get him back fully fit for when Steven Finn departs for England duty."

Although Middlesex will be able to call on Finn, Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh for the Championship match against Surrey the following four-day fixture against Warwickshire could be more of a challenge if Harris is still sidelined because Roland-Jones has been named in the England Lions side to face New Zealand.

Read More..

Thakor fifty helps turn day around

Gloucestershire 31 for 2 trail Leicestershire 250 (Thakor 75, Howell 5-57) by 219 runs
Scorecard

A stand of 125 between Shiv Thakor and Matt Boyce put Leicestershire in the ascendency on day one at Grace Road. The pair made half-centuries to stage a recovery from 52 for 5 before two late wickets as Gloucestershire came out to bat for nine overs made it Leicestershire's day.

Gloucestershire looked like taking control and Benny Howell claimed career-best figures of 5 for 57 as Leicestershire were dismissed for 250. But from where they were in the morning session, Gloucestershire will feel they let an opportunity slip.

Thakor and Matt Boyce sparked comeback to claim two batting points. Thakor top scored with 75 and Boyce also made a half-century before veteran Claude Henderson thumped 33 off 30 balls.

But it was 24-year-old allrounder Howell made the biggest impact of the day. Before this match Howell, in his second season with Gloucestershire, had taken only nine first-class wickets with a best return of 2 for 37 against Northamptonshire last season. He had bettered that by lunch, picking up 3 for 17 runs in a superb eight-over spell.

The home side were already in difficulties when Howell came on as first change. Michael Thornely was bowled by Will Gidman with the second ball of the day and Niall O'Brien soon followed after edging behind off David Payne.

Howell, finding some away swing with his medium pace bowling, then had Ramnaresh Sarwan caught at gully, trapped Ned Eckersley lbw offering no shot to a ball that straightened before bowling Josh Cobb off an inside edge.

With half the side out in the space of 22 overs, Leicestershire were staring down the barrel. But for the second Championship game in succession, Thakor and Boyce dug in to bring some respectability to the batting. They stayed together for 44 overs, Thakor reaching his 50 off 110 balls with seven fours plus an all run five. Boyce went to his half-century off 120 balls with four boundaries.

But both fell quickly after tea. Howell had Boyce caught at slip and Thakor was also caught low down by Hamish Marshall cutting at a ball from offspinner Jack Taylor.

Howell then picked up his fifth wicket when Jigar Naik edged to slip but Henderson's quick-fire 33 brought some valuable late runs.

And the day ended well for Leicestershire, with Robbie Williams trapping Chris Dent lbw and Ollie Freckingham having Dan Housego caught behind as Gloucestershire closed 219 runs behind.

Read More..

Mitchell Marsh to be recalled for Champions Trophy

Mitchell Marsh will return to Australian duty for the first time in more than a year when the national selector John Inverarity names his squad for the Champions Trophy ODI tournament that precedes the Ashes in England.

Following a year in which he was sent home from the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and then disciplined further for his part in the Perth Scorchers' Champions Trophy misadventures, 21-year-old Marsh earned his place with a handful of storming domestic limited overs displays for Western Australia.

In five matches for the Warriors last summer he cracked 278 runs at 69.50, including 104 from 96 balls against Tasmania at the WACA ground as the hosts narrowly missed the final. This innings followed a hamstring injury that cruelled a significant portion of Marsh's summer.

Marsh made his most recent international appearance in a Twenty20 against India in February 2012, and played his lone ODI in South Africa in late 2011.

He has largely flattered to deceive in first-class matches thus far, but it is in 50-over fixtures that he has been most consistent, averaging 39.90 with the bat and 24.85 with the ball across 27 matches.

The remainder of the Champions Trophy squad will be largely as expected, the experienced batsman Adam Voges included following his century against the West Indies at the MCG and the fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile rewarded for a strong limited overs season.

George Bailey, who served as Michael Clarke's stand-in when he missed numerous ODIs towards the end of the home summer, will be appointed vice-captain.

The squad does not include numerous players taking part in the concurrent Australia A tour of the British Isles, including James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin.

Champions Trophy squad: Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey (vice-capt), David Warner, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile.

More to come...

Read More..

Stokes still on England radar

Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, has been offered encouragement by the England management that he can win a return to international contention after being sent home from the Lions' winter tour of Australia for disciplinary reasons.

In February, Stokes and Kent's Matt Coles were punished for "contravening their conduct obligations" and dismissed from the touring party, after a second offence that coincided with Andy Flower's arrival in Australia to check on the Lions. Stoke recently met with Flower, England's team director, and Ashley Giles, who is in charge of the limited-overs sides, and was told to stay out of trouble and focus on his game.

"They told me it's not a clean slate but a cross has not been put through your name either," said Stokes, who played five ODIs and two T20 internationals for England in 2011. "Just keep playing your cricket and keep performing, that was the message."

Stokes' untimely return from Australia attracted unwelcome headlines for the second time in his career - in December 2011 he was arrested for obstructing a policeman in his duty, in what was believed to be a drink-related incident. On this occasion, Flower, Giles and England's managing director, Hugh Morris, have moved quickly to remind him of his responsibilities.

"People have made their minds up as to what happened and you can either believe it or not," Stokes told the Sunday Times. "I've got to learn from it. I'm not putting it behind me, it's always going to be on my mind, but I now know what Andy Flower, Ashley Giles and Hugh Morris want from the players they want to pick.

"It was an eye-opener. It has given me a lesson not just in cricket but in life. You learn by your mistakes, I guess, and if any situation comes along again that resembles those two, I'll know the right thing to do. We've got to remember we are role models for kids and think of the impression we give them as professional sportsmen."

Having long been considered one of England's most-talented prospects, his international career stalled after elevation to the limited-overs sides as a batsman two summers ago. A finger injury that required three operations was a major setback and then a back problem hampered him in the early part of last season but his bowling has continued to develop, complementing a first-class batting average of 37.13.

"You would have to run over it with a truck to damage it now," he said of his right index finger. "Getting it fixed then was the right thing to do because otherwise I probably wouldn't be bowling now. When I first started bowling for Durham I was a bit of an 'I'll-give-it-a-go' sort of guy but last year I was given a lot more responsibility, bowling in more high-pressure situations, and that helped my confidence and consistency. I tend to swing it. Mind you, if you can't swing it up here in Durham, you probably can't swing it anywhere."

Batting at No. 5 and coming on first-change with the ball for Durham will give Stokes the chance to press his England case in both suits. Performances on the pitch and a more mature attitude off it will also have to go hand in hand.

Read More..

Bangladesh need six wickets to level series

Zimbabwe 282 and 138 for 4 (H Masakadza 46*) need another 263 runs to beat Bangladesh 391 and 291 for 9 dec (Mushfiqur 93, Nasir 67*, Shakib 59, S Masakadza 4-58)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The moment Ziaur Rahman hit Brendan Taylor's pad in front of the stumps and the umpire raised his finger, Bangladesh were closer to a rare Test win. At the end of the fourth day of the second and final Test, Zimbabwe were 138 for 4, chasing a 401-run target set up by Mushfiqur Rahim's 93.

The Zimbabwe captain's wicket was the one Mushfiqur would have wanted more than the seven runs by which he missed his third Test hundred. After umpire Ian Gould lifted his finger, it was easy to see and hear what it meant to the fielding side which was screaming for joy. Zimbabwe were 96 for 3, with their best batsman and captain out of the equation with a day remaining.

Malcolm Waller also fell to Ziaur for 15, missing a straightening delivery as his lack of footwork shackled him to the crease. Shingirai Masakadza was sent in as the nightwatchman at 118 for 4 with more than 15 overs remaining in the day, a strange decision but one which ultimately paid off. His elder brother Hamilton held his own at the other end, unbeaten on 46 off 94 balls.

Zimbabwe started the fourth innings positively but in the tenth over, Regis Chakabva played inside the line of a Shakib Al Hasan delivery which spun past to strike off. Vusi Sibanda fell soon after for a 50-ball 32, driving one straight to Sohag Gazi at short cover off Shakib.

Mushfiqur would thank his lucky stars that finally bowlers other than Robiul Islam stood up. Ziaur bowled a 10-over spell, mainly focused on being accurate. He hardly has pace like he did a few years ago, but managed to bring in his shoulders to generate speed. Shakib and Gazi bowled tightly too, both using a typical left-arm spinner and offspinner's line. There was hardly a loose ball.

Bangladesh declared about an hour after lunch on 291 for 9, going ahead of the home side by exactly 400 runs. Shakib, Mushfiqur and Nasir Hossain hit their second fifties of the game.

Nasir stretched the lead with the tail, making an unbeaten 67 and scoring most of the 40 runs that came after lunch. Apart from his effort, Bangladesh's dominance was also due to captain Mushfiqur's attentiveness to the situation.

He made 93 before being brilliantly caught at gully by Sibanda off Hamilton Masakadza, and his persistence was crucial to his side's staying power. Along with Nasir, he had to see off the first half-hour, which has often produced wickets in Harare. Though they hardly found boundaries because the home side had deep fielders on both sides, they played carefully. Zimbabwe bowled wide too, and the batsmen cut out the rash shots.

Mushfiqur and Nasir were happy picking up singles until the captain began to open up with a mistimed scoop and a slog-sweep - both off Elton Chigumbura. He had earlier hit a cover drive that sped to the boundary but the wicket had slowed down, and bounce was also on the low side. He and Nasir added 84 for the sixth wicket, back-to-back 80-plus partnerships for Mushfiqur, after his fifth-wicket stand with Shakib on the third evening.

Taylor missed the long hours put in by Keegan Meth, who is out with a right knee injury. He was seen sitting on the sidelines with his feet up and knee strapped. Hamilton Masakadza, bowling medium-pace, took three wickets but was never going to be as big a threat to the visitors. Kyle Jarvis did not bowl with the venom of the first Test, but Shingi Masakadza remained steady and picked up four wickets.

Had the Zimbabwe bowlers put up a better show even on the fourth morning, the Test match could have remained competitive. Bangladesh got most of what happened on the fourth day their way, though there again was the odd leg-before decision that they were denied. They would still take it, given they are closing in on a Test win for the first time in nearly four years.

Read More..