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Tamim flays England bowling around Lord’s

LONDON - Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal brought one-day cricket to the test arena on Sunday with an audacious assault on the England bowling on the fourth day of the first test at Lord’s.

At tea, Bangladesh were 189 for two in their second innings after being asked to follow on, a wonderful counter-attack by a team who had lost each of their previous six tests against England.

Tamim brought up his third test century from 94 deliveries, the fastest at Lord’s for 20 years and the quickest ever by a Bangladesh batsman, during a national record opening stand of 185 with Imrul Kayes (75).

He was out shortly afterwards, caught at long-leg off a lofted hook for 103, and left the ground to a standing ovation after striking 15 boundaries and two sixes.

England’s pace attack wrapped up the Bangladesh first innings for 282 within the opening hour after only 28.5 overs had been bowled on Saturday because of rain and bad light. James Anderson clean-bowled two of the three batsmen dismissed on Sunday to finish with four for 78.

Andrew Strauss immediately enforced the follow-on but then had to wait for more than 2-1/2 hours for a wicket to fall on a sun-baked afternoon.

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Tamim and Kayes recorded their second half-century stand of the match at better than a run a minute. Tamim, who ran himself out recklessly in the first innings for 55, unfurled some glorious drives with a full flourish of the bat and a square cut which scorched to the boundary.

The 100 partnership was only the third by a Bangladesh opening pair in 67 tests and the first against England and Kayes bettered his top test score for the second time in the match when he passed 43.

He might have been caught on 30 when a delivery from Anderson fell between Swann’s hands at second slip as the fielder dived forward and he was then stuck on 49 for 15 balls, before sweeping Swann to the boundary for his first test half-century.

Tamim took three consecutive boundaries off Steven Finn, playing an extravagant one-legged pull through square-leg off the last in a manner reminiscent of the great West Indies’ entertainers.

In the next over, the first of Swann’s second spell, he twice lofted the off-spinner over the square-leg boundary for six with slog-sweeps, interspersed with a flowing cover-drive for four.

Tim Bresnan, replacing Finn at the Pavilion End, was sliced through third man for another boundary to give Tamim 34 runs from 11 deliveries.

It was too good to last and after reaching the fastest century at Lord’s since Indian Mohammad Azharuddin’s dazzling 87-ball innings in 1990, Tamim was well held by Jonathan Trott off Finn. The partnership bettered the previous highest against all countries of 161 set against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008.

Finn followed up by dismissing Kayes, caught at short-leg by Ian Bell, to give the fast bowler two wickets in 14 balls.