Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test at Old Trafford
Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford04-Jun-2010Ball of the day
Jonathan Trott faced 424 deliveries at Lord’s and not many of them looked like getting him out. What a difference a few days makes. On this occasion it took Bangladesh just five balls to dislodge him, barely time for Trott to start work on his cavernous guard, and it was a cracking delivery from the recalled Shafiul Islam that proved too good. Generating nippy pace from the Brian Statham End, Shafiul nipped one back off the seam which took the inside edge and cannoned into the stumps via Trott’s pad. The cheer that greeted Kevin Pietersen’s arrival at the crease suggested not everyone was disappointed by the early exit.Spell of the day
Shafiul was a revelation with the new ball as he opened with a nine-over spell for 18 runs and the wickets of Trott and Andrew Strauss. It was hard to see why he was left out at Lord’s, but then hindsight is always a wonderful thing when it comes to selection. However, what stuck out was his consistency of line and length, something sadly lacking from Bangladesh’s other quicks – including Shahadat Hossain in this innings. Shafiul wasn’t quite as impressive when he returned for a second spell, and hobbled off with cramp before tea (maybe the Manchester heat was too much), but looks like a bowler worth sticking with for the future.Statement of the day
Jamie Siddons isn’t afraid to speak his mind and baited Kevin Pietersen before the match about his problems against left-arm spin after he’d fallen to Shakib Al Hasan in the first Test. Therefore it was no surprise to see Shakib bring himself on almost as soon as Pietersen arrived, but the batsman was clearly in no mood to be bossed. Off the third ball he faced from the Bangladesh captain, Pietersen skipped down the pitch and launched him over mid-off. But that was as expansive as he got before lunch, although after the interval it was a very different story…with a predictable outcome.Heave of the day
Pietersen was a man in a hurry during the afternoon session as he took the attack to Bangladesh to bring up his half century, including a hefty six over long-on off Abdur Razzak. However, it was a high-risk policy from Pietersen and in the next over against Shakib the aggression brought his down fall when he charged down the pitch, was beaten by the spin and presented Musfiqur Rahim with one of the easiest stumpings he is likely to have. Shakib celebrated with real feeling and Pietersen was left to contemplate wicket No. 17 against left-arm spin.Catch of the day
Each time England started to form a partnership Bangladesh managed to break through to ensure the innings didn’t run away. Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan had taken their fifth-wicket stand to 70 when Morgan eyed up a short, wide delivery from Shahadat and was thinking about four through point. He connected well, but didn’t keep the ball down and a flying Jahurul Islam at gully dived full length to his right and took the catch in one hand. His effort set a fine example for a team which struggles to compete as a bowling unit, but should work to make themselves into a strong fielding unit.Milestone of the day
After missing out in Bangladesh and again at Lord’s, Ajmal Shahzad earned his England debut in Manchester. He was presented with his cap by David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and became the 650th Test cricketer for his country. The previous milestone of cap numbers was brought up by another Yorkshireman, Michael Vaughan in 1999, while the list of other players to bring up the various fifties is an eclectic bunch including one-cap wonder Andy Ducat at 200, Bill Edrich at 300 and Steve Watkin at 550. In a sign of England’s more consistent selection policy, the last fifty players took 11 years to collect, while numbers 550 to 600 were tallied up in eight years between 1991 and 1999.
