Tour match, Derby (day three of four): England Lions 296 & 86-1 bt Bangladesh 220 & 161 by 10 wickets Match scorecard
 Cook's team won in the first over after lunch on the penultimate day |
England Lions wrapped up a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh with nearly five sessions of their tour match to spare. The tourists, who do not play again before Thursday's first Test against England at Lord's, resumed in a precarious position 63 ahead at 139-9. They added 22 with Jahurul Islam making an unbeaten 58, before Ravi Bopara took the final wicket to finish with 4-14. Chasing 86, Bopara made 28, Alastair Cook hit six fours in 42 and Moeen Ali won it in style with 10 in three balls. Bopara had struck four fours in his innings when he was out in the final over before lunch, at which point the interval was taken. After the resumption Ali wasted no time finishing things off as he smashed a six and a four. Dropped after the fourth Ashes Test last summer following some disappointing scores, Bopara was appearing in a first-class match for the first time this season. His Indian Premier League stint, and subsequent trip to the Caribbean with the World Twenty20 squad, has left him short of the right type of match practice ahead of a possible return to Test duties at Lord's next Thursday. "I'm just hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that I am in the squad," said Bopara, who may need Paul Collingwood to be rested if he is to earn an 11th Test cap. "Hopefully there's a spot available there for me and I can take it, score some runs and set myself up for the summer. I'm not undercooked, I'm ready. "Playing out in New Zealand in the winter and doing things on my own, I've learned stuff about my own game. I worked on a couple of technical things to make batting easier for myself."  Bopara could return to the Test team at Lord's |
Bopara looked set to end the Lions game unbeaten until he was bowled by left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak on the stroke of lunch. "It was very, very frustrating," he said. "I could have smashed the changing room up. "I was trying to get the 10 runs we needed before lunch so we could all get off a bit earlier and ended up giving my wicket away. But you live and learn and I won't be doing that again." Despite the defeat in three days, there was good news for Bangladesh who are optimistic skipper Shakib Al Hasan will have made a full recovery from chickenpox to play at Lord's. Coach Jamie Siddons said: "He's much better. He bowled and batted today and walked some laps. I'm pretty confident he's pacing himself well and will definitely be putting his hand up to play. "That's good news for us because he's an integral part of our line-up and balances our team out nicely." On the nine-wicket defeat to the Lions, Siddons said: "I didn't think the wicket was perfect for batting and I think the Test wicket will be a lot better. "It swung a lot and when Alastair Cook plays and misses at four balls in a row there's something going on out there." Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal will see a specialist about a hand problem before a decision is made about his place in the Test.
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