LONDON, (Reuters) – England regained control of the first test at Lord’s yesterday to quash Bangladesh’s hopes of a draw with an ultimately untroubled eight wicket victory.
Captain Andrew Strauss led from the front with 82 from 88 balls as England reached 163 for two with 38 overs to spare.
The win, though, was triggered by man-of-the-match Steve Finn who returned match figures of nine for 187 in his first test on home soil.
Although England eventually recorded their seventh win in as many tests over Bangladesh they were outplayed on Friday and for much of Sunday by a team who lost by an innings and 261 runs in their only other appearance at Lord’s five years ago.
Strauss, returning to the side after resting for the two-test tour of Bangladesh, acknowledged as much at the post-match award ceremony.
“We had to work pretty hard for our victory so all credit to Bangladesh,” he said. “All credit to the way Bangladesh batted in both innings. We weren’t as good as we should have been in this game.
“They made it hard work for us. I think our bowling wasn’t quite as good as it should have been in the first half of the game but it got better as the game went on.”
Three of England’s four-man attack, in fact, looked distinctly ordinary on Sunday as Tamim Iqbal fashioned a delightful century from 94 balls, the fastest test hundred at Lord’s for 20 years.
Tamim reduced off-spinner Graeme Swann, England’s best bowler, to frustrated impotence with his audacious stroke play during a first wicket partnership of 185.
Tim Bresnan rarely threatened throughout the match and James Anderson could not get the ball to swing consistently until England took the second new ball in Bangladesh’s second innings on Sunday evening.
HEAD AND SHOULDERS
The exception was Finn, who stood head and shoulders over his companions both literally and figuratively.
Finn, who uses all his 2.01 metres in height with a relaxed, smooth action, prompted comparisons with Glenn McGrath and Curtly Ambrose with his accuracy and control.
After taking four wickets in the first innings he effectively ended Bangladesh’s resistance in the second with three wickets from 15 balls yesterday to finish with five for 87.
“He hit the deck really hard, he’s got good pace and he got more out of that wicket than anybody else,” said Strauss.
Finn said he had dreamed about playing a test at Lord’s, the home ground of his county Middlesex, for a long time.
“Looking at the honours board every day with Middlesex you dream about being up there,” he said.
Bangladesh can take great heart from their performance, which they hope will silence the critics who question their right to test status after only three wins over Zimbabwe and a depleted West Indies side in 67 tests.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan said the Bangladesh bowlers had to learn to do more with the ball but praised his batsmen’s performances in scoring 664 runs in two innings.
“They worked very hard, there were some short balls but they stuck to their plans,” he said.
The teams now travel to Manchester for the second and final test at Old Trafford starting on Friday. England’s selectors were to meet last night to decide their team.