Date-stamped : 20 Feb95 - 22:29
England "A" v Bangladesh, ODI 1
played at National Stadium, Dhaka, 20 February 1995

Versatile Gallian reduces fireworks to damp squibs - Simon Hughes

THE surrounds of Dhaka's National Stadium were  like  a  quagmire
yesterday and the pitch for England A's first match in Bangladesh
showed signs of a recent high  tide.  Part  of  it was  dry   and
cracked, the rest squidgy rolled mud.

Not surprisingly, run-scoring was difficult, and England's  total
of  203  for eight proved to be well beyond the reach of the home
side.

England began shakily, losing  both  openers  as  they  attempted
firm-wicket  shots,  which  initiated  a  sustained round of fire
crackers from a crowd of around 10,000 - the first  real  assault
on   the  tourists'  eardrums  since  they arrived  on  the  sub-
continent.

Jason Gallian  and  Alan  Wells,  both  very  adaptable  players,
quickly  assessed  the  available options and decided to progress
with judicious use of the swat and the smear from a step  or  two
down the wicket.

Both were out top-edging sweeps, and after a minor collapse, Paul
Weekes  and  Richard  Johnson  dished out the long handle, Weekes
scything half of England's meagre total of eight boundaries.   It
is  revealing  that  in the seven Pakistan Test matches played on
this wicket pre-1970 only two innings out of 27  passed  the  300
mark.

So 203 was likely to be well beyond the compass  of  Bangladesh's
part-timers  even before they lost their first three with only 15
on the board. After that there was a lot of cutting at thin  air,
and Bangladesh were able to pass 100 only because England relaxed
their grip a touch.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
<END> Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)