England reaches 275-5 vs Bangladesh

Published>Sat, Jun 05 10 10:08 AM

England reached 275-5 against Bangladesh before bad light stopped play on an even first day of the second test at Old Trafford on Friday.

Ian Bell made 87 not out from 171 balls, including nine fours and one six, while Kevin Pietersen hit 64 from 81 balls, including seven fours and one six.

Bell said batting had been tougher than expected. "I think the wicket took us a little bit by surprise," he said.

"We were expecting more pace than there was and we didn't expect that much spin. It was a tricky day and they made us work hard for our runs."

Shafiul Islam marked his return to the Bangladesh side with 2-37.

"I'm very happy with the way I bowled," Shafiul said.

"The pitch had movement off the wicket, but not much bounce, so I tried to bowl length and line."

Bangladesh made two changes to the side defeated in the first test at Lord's on Monday, with Shafiul and Abdur Razzak replacing Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain, in a bid to revitalize its bowling attack.

The move paid early dividends. After winning the toss, England chose to bat, reaching 44 without loss before Shafiul had England captain Andrew Strauss caught at second slip by Imrul Kayes for 21 with the opening ball of the 12th over.

Shafiul struck again two overs later when Jonathan Trott, who made 226 at Lord's, lasted just five balls before he got an inside edge and was bowled for 3.

Razzak was handed the ball at the start of the 25th over and immediately removed Alastair Cook, who was attempting to block but instead edged a catch to Junaid Siddique at first slip on 29.

Pietersen and Bell took England through to lunch without further loss and attacked after the lunch interval, with Pietersen reaching 50 with a glance to midwicket.

After hitting a huge six off Razzak over long off, Pietersen tried to repeat the feat against Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan in the next over and was stumped.

Bell defended Pietersen's strategy. "I thought he played fantastically well," he said. "Kev gave us a bit of momentum and the opportunity to get Bangladesh on the back foot. We could have dug a bit of a hole if we'd tried to play negatively."

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