Giles returns to his home-from-home

And finally a practice session in Bangladesh © AFP

On the third day, the sun shone brightly and the mood was lifted all round. Okay, so England were still unable to practise out in the middle, but after yesterday's misfortunes, it was a relief just to make it to the indoor arena at the BKSP - a quaint little tent of a building, set in the middle of a field of cricket and football pitches, that would fit four or five times into one of those giant complexes at Lord's or Old Trafford.

For Ashley Giles, England's senior bowler in the absence of Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and now, Andrew Flintoff, it made a pleasant change to be able to talk cricket without having his tongue firmly embedded in his cheek. As he sat on the steps outside the building, the beads of sweat on his forehead were, for the first time, the only signs of moisture in the immediate environment.

England have not enjoyed the best of luck on this tour so far, but for Giles it is just a relief to be back in Asia, every spinner's spiritual home. "I've looked forward to returning," he said. "It's been a year and a half since we were last on the subcontinent, and I enjoy being here. The pitches generally suit you, and you tend to get more overs and more responsibility, and so more wickets as well."

For Giles, the summer of 2003 was not one to remember - although in fairness, he let nobody down in his six Tests, and more than made up for his shortage of wickets (nine) with fruitful contributions with the bat. "I helped to create a few partnerships," he conceded, "but I need to go on more. I'm never going to belt it like Freddie [Flintoff], but I should maybe go on to score a hundred."

The addition to the coaching staff of Mike Watkinson, a former England offspinner, is a clear bonus for Giles. While the rain has been pouring, the pair have kept busy by working on such menial tasks as rhythm and balance, and Giles's approach to the wicket. "It's no disrespect to the other coaches," says Giles, "but I think Winker mentally appreciates the trauma that spinners sometimes go through. I like the way he's thinking. He understands me."

Giles's likely partner-in-crime, as and when the first practice match gets underway at the Bangabandhu stadium on Sunday morning, is the Worcestershire offspinner, Gareth Batty. The pair do not know each other too well at present, but Giles knows from experience that tours of the subcontinent are ideal places to forge a team spirit.

"Those tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the ones that I have enjoyed the most," he admitted. "I'm not just talking from a personal point of view, although it was nice to take wickets and contribute to victory [Giles took 24 wickets in the six matches, including seven in England's victory at Karachi, and six more as they clinched the Sri Lankan series in Colombo].

"More importantly, it was the way the team bonded on that tour. There's not a lot to do at nights out here, so we spent a lot of time eating, chatting, going into each other's rooms and watching videos. We talked more about cricket, and more about each other as well, and when you do that, I think success comes hand-in-hand."

After a summer of doing a fill-in job when the seamers were tired, Giles is clearly relishing the chance to take centre stage once again. "Back home, it may be viewed as a build-up to Sri Lanka," he said, "but I've been looking forward to this series - for my personal role in the team, and the opportunity it presents.

"We dare not take these guys lightly. They had some impressive individual performances against Australia and Pakistan, and if we underestimate them, we'll get hammered."