OB's Test Match Blog - Bangladesh - Test Two - Day Five

All, I'm knackered. Sitting in Birmingham train station wating for my train to Derby then Matlock, and I'm fooked. We finished yesterday, I think, not sure on the time zones, but it feels like yesterday after a 5hr flight from Dhaka to Dubai, an 8 hour lay over, and then an 8 hr flight to BHX. Eight hour lay over is not perfect. Yes, I did have access to the Business Class Lounge, but.... Not the most perfect way to do things. Finish the match, get back to the hotel, pack quickly, get to the air port and off. No chance to have a couple with the boys. And, I'm still sore! The match; a draw. The only way we could win this one was to get them to follow on. We missed out on this with a very good 8 wicket partnership from them. Had a couple of things gone our way, then it might just have been possible. I had a catch disallowed earlyish in Mortaza's innings which just might have been the answer. Alas, we had to watch him and Shakib take away our only chance to win. They batted well and on that track there really was no answer. We started the day with them at 13-3, after Dan's 3 wicket last over. A handy position when the follow on target is 162. Both Dan and Jeets picked up a wicket in their first spells. 4-26 and then 5-44 after picking up Tamin. He likes a chat, so we enjoyed having a chat to him throughout his innings. As I said on the Day 4 blog, my spells today were going to be full of short pitched bowling. I wasn't fibbing. That was the plan. Bowl short, rough them up and hope for mistakes/brain explosions at the other end. I actually managed to pick up three wickets for the day. Did you hear me? I said if I got one you'd hear me all over the world. And when I picked up Rhiem (the tiny keeper), with a bouncer, gloved through to Brendon, I was a little happy. And it was loud! Picking up wickets on that sort of track was hard work. Bowling short is hard work. But when you actually have to come back to a length that is almost within my third of the pitch to get it up to head height makes it even harder work. The track was just that slow and void of bounce. And it was only the 2nd day of play on it. I get Mortaza with the score at 155. Still 7 runs short of the follow on. Eight down. Still a chance. We were sitll very determined and held the belief that we could do it. Two boundries in the next over killed that, and the match for us. Razzak came out, chanced his arm and hit Dan for 3 fours' in one over. I picked up Shahahahahahdadada in the next over, caught by Dan in close on the off side. The previous short bowling had an influence on him, he stepped back, expecting a short one, a length ball arrived, he defends it straight to Dan about 5 meters away. Thanks. That's 3'fa on a dead one. Took my telly to 8 for 95. The best in the series by a quick by 5 wickets. I'm pretty proud of what I've done in these two tests. Just read this morning that I've gone to 40th in the world, on the ICC bowling list, from 49th at the start of the series. Now back in the UK for three night to catch up with my wife before heading back home to prepare for the Australia series which we leave for on the 10th. It's cold here. After two weeks in Chennai with temps at least 38 every day, and then almost 4 weeks in Bangladesh with temps ranging from 32 to 38, and I get in here and from the plane I can see snow in the fields just north of London and also south of Birmingham, I knew I was in for a shock. Thank God for central heating!! And, that's that for now. OB