England make solid start

Ajmal Shahzad
12 April 2012

Ajmal Shahzad was handed a Test debut against Bangladesh at Old Trafford.

The 24-year-old won his battle with fellow Yorkshireman Ryan Sidebottom for the final spot in an England team minus the injured Tim Bresnan but otherwise unchanged from their first-Test win at Lord's.

Shahzad therefore comes in as the third seamer in a four-man attack.

He soon learned he would have to wait for his chance with the ball, though, after England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and chose to bat first on a sunny morning. As predicted, Bangladesh brought in seamer Shafiul Islam and Abdur Razzak as an extra spinner - replacing pace pair Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain.

Bangladesh took the field wearing black armbands, following the fire disaster which has killed more than 100 people in Dhaka.

Strauss and Alastair Cook were quickly into their stride, with a rush of early boundaries off Shahadat Hossain on the way to 35 for none in the first seven overs. Cook's was the first, clipped off his legs and followed by a crunching off-drive two balls later.

Strauss had already cut the same bowler to the point boundary - and then pushed him away off the pads, squirted a full toss off the edge down to third-man and then pulled dismissively as three more fours came in one over.

But Shafiul, sharing the new ball, was more accurate until he strayed too full on to Cook's pads and was dispatched wide of mid-on for another four.

England: A J Strauss (Capt), A N Cook, I J L Trott, K P Pietersen I R Bell, E J G Morgan, M J Prior (Wkt), A Shahzad, G P Swann J M Anderson, S T Finn.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique Jahurul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan (Capt) Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wkt), Shahadat Hossain Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam.

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