England take strong lead in Test

England ended Bangladesh's late resistance with three wickets off four balls to gain a 303-run lead on the third day of the opening Test today. Mushfiqur Rahim (79) and Naeem Islam (38) put on a record 113 for the eighth wicket before Bangladesh were bowled out for 296 in their first innings in reply to England's mammoth 599-6 declared. Off-spinner Graeme Swann finished with 5-90, his fifth five-wicket haul in 17 Tests.

England were 12 for no loss in their second innings at tea, with skipper Alastair Cook and debutant Michael Carberry each on six at the crease. Wicket-keeper Rahim and lower-order batsman Naeem frustrated England with their defiant knocks before the tourists managed to break the stand, thanks to brilliant fielding by Carberry. Carberry's accurate throw from the deep to wicket-keeper Matt Prior found Naeem short of the crease when the batsman attempted a second run. Naeem hit six fours in his 116-ball knock.

Swann ended the innings in his next over, taking the last two wickets off three deliveries. Rahim fell to a superb one-handed diving catch by substitute James Tredwell at short mid-wicket after cracking 15 fours in his 152-ball knock, while last-man Rubel Hossain was bowled for no score. Bangladesh's previous best for the eighth wicket in Tests was 87 between Mohammad Ashraful and Mohammad Rafique against the West Indies at Gros Islet in 2004.

England had chances to break the Rahim-Naeem partnership in the afternoon session, but failed to capitalise on them. Naeem was on 17 when Swann failed to hold on to a return catch and Rahim on 61 when Paul Collingwood dropped a catch at second slip off paceman Stuart Broad, bowling his first over with the new ball. Bangladesh lost two wickets in the opening hour after resuming at 154-5, but Rahim and Naeem kept the England attack at bay for more than 49 overs with their determined knocks.

The tourists struck in the third over when seamer Tim Bresnan bowled Tamim Iqbal (86), who could add just five runs to his overnight score. The Bangladeshi opener hit one six and 14 fours in his 124-ball knock. Debutant paceman Steven Finn bagged his maiden Test wicket when he had nightwatchman Shahadat Hossain (14) caught by Collingwood at second slip to reduce the hosts to 183-7. Rahim reached his fifth Test half-century just before lunch, sweeping Swann to the boundary.

Scoreboard at tea on the third day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England on Sunday: England 1st innings 599-6 decl (A. Cook 173, P. Collingwood 145) Bangladesh 1st innings (overnight 154-5): Tamim Iqbal b Bresnan 86 Imrul Kayes c Prior b Broad 4 Junaid Siddique c and b Broad 7 Aftab Ahmed c Bell b Swann 1 Mohammad Mahmudullah c Collingwood b Swann 51 Shakib Al Hasan b Swann 1 Shahadat Hossain c Collingwood b Finn 14 Mushfiqur Rahim c sub (Tredwell) b Swann 79 Naeem Islam run out 38 Abdur Razzak not out 0 Rubel Hossain b Swann 0 Extras (b1, lb12, nb1, w1) 15 Total (for all out; 90.3 overs) 296 Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Kayes), 2-27 (Siddique), 3-51 (Ahmed), 4-145 (Mahmudullah), 5-149 (Shakib), 6-159 (Tamim), 7-183 (Shahadat), 8-296 (Naeem), 9-296 (Rahim), 10-296 (Rubel). Bowling: Broad 21-4-70-2, Bresnan 25-10-72-1 (w1), Swann 29.3-8-90-5, Finn 14-5-48-1 (nb1), Pietersen 1-0-3-0. England 2nd innings: A. Cook not out 6 M. Carberry not out 6 Total (for no loss; 5 overs) 12 Bowling: Shahadat 2-0-4-0, Rubel 2-0-7-0, Mahmudullah 1-0-1-0. Toss: Bangladesh Umpires: Tony Hill (NZL) and Rod Tucker (AUS) TV umpire: Enamul Haque (BAN) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

*AFP