Loudon stars in England victory

England 359 and 130 for 5 (Prior 50) beat Bangladesh 209 and 279 (Jahirul 87, Tushar 62, Loudon 5-76) by five wickets
Scorecard

Alex Loudon impressed with the ball as his offspin claimed five wickets © Getty Images

Alex Loudon was the star as England completed a hard-fought five-wicket win against Bangladesh at Mirpur. Loudon collected 5 for 76, to add to his 71 on the third day, leaving England with a target of 130 which they reached in just under 20 overs.

England gained an early foothold on the final day when Loudon trapped Mehrab Hossain lbw with just three runs added to the overnight total. Mosharraf Hossain, the nightwatchman, followed 15 runs later when he was run out and England sensed their chance to press for the win.

Bangladesh played with a very defensive mindset, meaning that even though it took England a while to dislodge the resistance the lead was never growing at a rapid rate. Graham Onions, the Durham paceman, grabbed two middle-order wickets in two balls. When 183 for 5 soon became 202 for 7, on the back of two Tim Bresnan strikes, England would have fancied their chances of wrapping up the innings in quick time.

However, Tushar Imran got his head down and forged a gritty half-century while Mohammad Sharif supported him well with 26 as the eighth wicket added 44, then Dolar Mahmud helped put on another 30 for the ninth. Loudon claimed the final three scalps, a reward for 32 overs hard work, but England were left limited time for their run chase.

They played it in one-day style, promoting Matt Prior to open who slammed 50 off 52 balls to put England ahead of the rate. At 78 for 1 everything was under control and, although there were a few late wickets, Loudon completed a fine match by knocking off the final runs.