Rain stops England in their stride

Bangladesh A 242 (Nasif 118) and 81 for 4 (Omar 29*, Muntasir 2*) drew with England (Trescothick 96) 333
Scorecard

Three wickets in seven overs for Gareth Batty put England in command on the third and final day at the BKSP academy in Dhaka, but as the teams left the field for lunch a violent rain-storm put paid to the day's play. It meant that England had failed to win in either of their warm-up matches ahead of Tuesday's first Test, and their coach Duncan Fletcher remains unsure of the balance of the side that he will opt for in that match.

Batty, though, did his bit to ensure that England will enter the match with two spinners, rather than a seam-orientated attack. After being described in the local press as "ordinary', he responded with the wickets of Aftab Ahmed and Rajin Saleh, two men who were yesterday named in Bangladesh's Test squad. When Najimuddin was caught behind by Geraint Jones (standing in for Chris Read), Batty had returned the impressive figures of 3 for 19.

Steve Harmison, meanwhile, bounded in and exploited a pitch that was livelier on this third day than it had been at any other stage of the match. He had the first-innings centurion, Nafis Iqbal, caught low by Graham Thorpe in the gully, and should have removed Aftab as well, but the umpire turned down a loud appeal for a gloved catch at leg-gully.

Fletcher was satisfied with the way England's preparations had gone, but admitted that Andrew Flintoff's absence had left him with a few dilemmas. "We have got a little bit of concern, but everything depends on the bowling line-up that we settle for." Rikki Clarke, who is viewed as a better bowling stand-in than Paul Collingwood, seems inked in at No. 6, with Read at 7. Who will follow them, however, remains a matter for conjecture.

The batting is more of a settled unit. "I'd have liked Nasser and Thorpe to have had a few more overs [in the middle]," said Fletcher, "but speaking to them they feel as though they are in good nick." Mark Butcher though, who missed this match with a throat infection, is a slightly thornier issue. "From the acclimatisation point of view, it is a pity he has only batted once. These two days in the sun have really helped the players."

"It's not as though [Butcher] hasn't had any exposure," added Fletcher. "He played in that first game and it was pretty hot. And he might even have been fit to play on the first morning of this match. But it was a good call from the team doctor, who just told him to take it easy."

England's taking-it-easy approach will continue this afternoon, as they take advantage of some unexpected time off to watch England's vital World Cup rugby match against Australia.