Bangladesh faltered as Lewis and Harmison terrorised the batsmen with a stunning bowling performance before rain caused a second stoppage to play. The openers Javed Omar and Nafis Iqbal started very promisingly and in particular some good driving by Omar off Gough. But Lewis soon made the first breakthrough, trapping Omar lbw. Ashraful, coming in at an early number 3, departed next ball after edging a good delivery to Flintoff at second slip. Tushar Imran, the next batsmen in , steadied things temporarily but Iqbal was dismissed first, caught behind off Lewis again. Imran went a bit after, clean bowled by Harmison from a yorker. Captain Habibul Bashar was in now, and looked in good nick before he was also chealply dismissed, edging behind to wickie Geraint Jones. Alot of expectation and pressure Khaled Mashud to save yet another Bangladeshi innings, but failed miserably scoring just a single from 10 balls. Aftab Ahmed and Rafique made sure that no more wickets fell and put on a short partnership. The rain halted play again temporarily before eventually the players returned and the pair continued to shine, putting in brave performances. Gough finally found a wicket, Rafique driving straight to Harmison. That opened the way for the bowlers to rap up the tail fairly comfortably, Bangladesh totaling a predictive 190. The openers cruised to victory with a brilliant unbeaten stand, smashing the young bowlers all over the ground, Strauss hitting 10 fours and a six, and Tres clubbing an amazing 16 fours. They reached their target in less than 25 overs. This victory has boosted the morale and confidence even further now. A good start to the Natwest Series for England but Bangladesh have some work to do before they face the Aussies at the weekend. Australia will be looking for revenge against Bangladesh and especially England.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

• Think you know your sport? Click here to try the Sportnetwork Prize Quizzes