Andy Gilder wrote:So, what have England learned ahead of the tougher Tests to come?
Not a lot, I would suggest.
It's hard to assess the performance of the bowlers against such limited opposition from the Bangladesh middle order, but the way Tamim and Kayes handled England's new ball attack has to be cause for concern.
Broad will likely come straight back into the side for Shahzad, but with he and Finn in the attack if the pitch has little bounce or pace to it you wonder where wickets are going to come from. Both of them tend to get too carried away with the short stuff which won't be half as effective against better players.
The balance of the side still looks wrong IMO with Prior at 7 and four bowlers, although Collingwood's likely return in place of Morgan adds an extra part-time seam option. It looks like a side being picked not to lose a game rather than go out and win one.
The openers are a cause for concern - neither Strauss nor Cook have posted many first class runs this season and Cook in particular looks all at sea with his technique.
The upcoming series against Pakistan is going to be a much sterner examination of England's credentials.
Finn has had an encouraging start, lots still to do but looks a real good option. Shazhad also went pretty well and looked pretty quick in his spells. Cook looks woefully out of form and has done so at County level too. We still need to bat with Prior at 6 and pick the extra bowler imo but I don't trust the top 5 at the moment.
