England defeat Bangladesh in Second Test

Bangladesh were bundled out in two sessions as England won the second Test at Manchester by an innings and 80 runs and more than two days to spare. The Tigers did not have a clue against the hostile spell of fast bowling by Steven Finn, James Anderson and debutant Shehzad as wickets fell in a heap after time was lost in the morning of the third day due to rain. Ian Bell was the man of the match and Tamim Iqbal, who scored a century in both Tests along with  Steven Finn won the player of the series award for their respective sides.

Tamim Iqbal: the only saving grace for Bangladesh

This loss has again triggered the debate over whether Bangladesh deserve their Test status. Even after showing signs of improvement and giving England a real scare in the first Test and the first day of the second Test, it seemed they invariably decided to give it up. Their batting has looked out of sorts, with only Tamim Iqbal looking strong in both matches. Exciting talent Ashraful again flattered to deceive, playing irresponsibly as did the rest of the batsmen. In the first innings here at Old Trafford, openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes gave Bangladesh a brilliant start, having put up a partnership of 126. After being 126 for no loss they showed their inexperience to be all out for a mere 216, four short of saving the follow on. In the second inings they were miserable.

The first morning of the Test was good for them too. Seamer Shaiful Islam impressed to take two wickets at quick intervals to peg England back, and till lunch they were only a 92 for 3. Pieterson with a half century and then Ian Bell (108) and Matt Prior (93) saved humiliation and England ended with 419 on the board. Skipper Shakib ul Hasan took five wickets but England never looked in disarray.

Coach Jamie Siddons admitted his side needed to improve their fast bowling significantly to have better results.

For England this test series was good means to test their bench strength with Steven Finn impressing the most along with Ajmal Shahzed. Steven Finn with 15 wickets this series looks a player to watch out for in the Ashes which starts at the end of this year in Australia.

Bangladesh and England will lock horns again in the ODI series which starts July 8 at Trent Bridge.