Feature

Imrul accepts Willey's gift

Plays of the day from the first ODI between Bangladesh and England

Ben Duckett showed flashes of improvisation during a maiden fifty  •  Getty Images

Ben Duckett showed flashes of improvisation during a maiden fifty  •  Getty Images

The early break
Soumya Sarkar was marking his position at deep square-leg in the first over despite the fact some 30 minutes earlier at the toss, Mashrafe had confirmed that Soumya had been dropped for the first time in his international career, making way for Imrul Kayes. The confusion ended when it was noticed that Taskin Ahmed was missing among the fielders. He had apparently taken a comfort break, which meant that he missed the first two overs of the innings. There was no problem in making up time as he only came to bowl in the 25th over.
The cheek
Ben Duckett lived up to his billing with his 60 in his debut innings, although Ben Stokes' strokeplay at times made you forget that another bright left-hander was at the other end. But Duckett did have his moments during their 153-run fifth wicket stand, and one of them came in the 27th over when he shimmied towards off stump to lift the fast bowler Taskin Ahmed over the wicketkeeper's head for a boundary. The newcomer's presence of mind was laudable.
The first drop
When Stokes slammed one towards mid-on in the 31st over, here was Bangladesh's chance for a major breakthrough. Stokes and Duckett had added 108 runs to that point and a wicket could had stopped Bangladesh's sliding fortunes. Instead, Mahmudullah dropped a straightforward chance off the Stokes bunt and the home side's fielding disintegrated. The ball was struck hard but it was right into Mahmudullah's lap after he made a little ground to his right. Unfortunately, his fall to complete the catch resulted in the ball getting out of his control.
The last straw
The Bangladesh bowlers didn't offer much more than a scowl after Mahmudullah and Mosharraf Hossain managed to drop three chances between them, and catches fell between fielders twice. But Taskin had had enough when Tamim Iqbal and Mosaddek Hossain made a royal mess of a skier in the 49th over. Miscommunication was to be blamed as Mosaddek, who had the catch within his reach, didn't go for it. Taskin screamed in anger, as his bowling stint ended wicketless.
The hole in one
Imrul's intent was shown straight away when he deposited Chris Woakes into the stands at deep square leg. It was so well struck, that the ball got lodged into an advertising hoarding on the second level of the grandstand. A volunteer needed to climb up and fetch the ball, which took some finding. He took delight in doing so, while Woakes waited for the retrieval.
The (other) captain's approval
As David Willey was sizing up a fiercely struck pull from Sabbir Rahman at deep midwicket, England's Test captain Alastair Cook was standing nearby over the boundary rope. Willey completed the juggling act brilliantly, converting the half-chance into a timely breakthrough and removing Sabbir. Cook, meanwhile, was still standing in his spot but now he was celebrating with a clenched fist and a grin in his face.
The freebie
Imrul batted splendidly until he had reached 98 off 104 balls, at which point Willey literally gifted him the hundred with four overthrows that, while close to effecting a run-out as he struck the stumps, could have been avoided. Willey undid a bit of his good work on the boundary to get rid of Sabbir. Imrul meanwhile was relieved to reach the landmark, his first in ODIs after six years.
The missed sitter
Imrul's first life, as such, was in the 40th over when the England captain and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler dropped a sitter off his top edge. Imrul was getting tired at this stage and when Jake Ball had bounced him, the attempted pull was a weak attempt. But what was even weaker was Buttler's attempted grab, as he dropped the ball while trying to appeal for the caught behind.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84