Bangladesh v England, 1st Test - England Player Ratings

After the series victory in the shorter format of the game, it was time for Cook & co. to stake their claim in the Test matches with yet another clean sweep expected from the visitors. With the Indian Winters right around the corner, this series was an opportunity for England to get used to the alien conditions before their big tour.

However, few would have predicted what this hugely entertaining test had in hold for us as England ran out as the eventual winner in the end, but not without some tough work.

Here are the player ratings for the visitors:

Alastair Cook: 2/10

Getting used to the spinning conditions straight away is never an easy task, more so, if these conditions are alien to you. With just 16 runs in both the innings combined, Alastair Cook learned that lesson the hard way.

Ben Duckett: 2/10

The left-hander, who had a solid outing in the recently concluded ODI series, made his test debut in this match, but unfortunately, this wasn’t to be a dreamy one on a personal note as Duckett failed with the bat in both the innings.

Joe Root: 4/10

Over the years, we have come to expect a lot from Joe Root, given that he is one of the best players in the world. Rooty showed just why he is regarded in such a high esteem with his effortless run scoring in the first innings before he was abruptly halted at the score of 40. His second innings lasted for just 4 balls as Joe Root failed to score big.

Gary Ballance: 2/10

A horror show from Gary Ballance as the left-hander never looked comfortable in the 32 balls he faced in both the innings combined. While a decent player, Ballance still has a lot of room to improve against quality spinners in the sub-continent conditions.

Also read – Bangladesh v England, 1st Test – Bangladesh Player Ratings

Ben Stokes: 8/10

The English all-rounder has been improving leaps and bounds since his debut game in the Ashes. While he failed with the bat in the first innings, he more than made up for it by claiming 4 wickets with the ball, showing us his ability to reverse swing the ball in these conditions.

With England struggling badly in the second innings, Ben Stokes took the game away from the Bangladeshis by amassing a brilliant 85 runs in conditions alien to him.

Oh, and did I mention the last 2 wickets he picked up in an over on the 5th day to win the match for England? A great effort from Ben, definitely the best player for England in the match.

Jonny Bairstow: 6.5/10

You must be a very good player if you are managing to keep the likes of Jos Buttler on the bench. Jonny Bairstow proved yet again why he is the primary wicket keeper batsman for England in the longer format by some impactful performances with the bat in both the innings. Although, he needs to work a bit on his wicket keeping skills while standing behind the stumps in these conditions.

Moeen Ali: 7.5/10

Another player alongside Ben Stokes who deserves a lot of praise for his performance in this game with both bat and ball.

Moeen Ali played a crucial knock with the bat in the first innings after England were put in a spot of bother early on while also proving his mettle with the ball, as he led the spin attack from the front. However, Ali missed out in the second innings with the bat after he managed to get himself in.

Chris Woakes: 5/10

Some players have the game of their life, but Chris Woakes is having a year of his life in the International circuit. However, with conditions offering absolutely nothing for the fast bowlers, there was nothing Chris Woakes would do with the ball to cause an impact.

Still, the 27-year-old managed to score some vital runs for his team lower down the order in both the innings after the top order failed to chip in.

Also read – India v New Zealand, 3rd ODI – Statistical Highlights

Adil Rashid: 4/10

A very good bowler in the shorter format of the game, Adil Rashid is still trying to find his feet in the Test Matches as the leg spinner struggled to bowl consistent line and lengths in helpful conditions.

A string of full tosses and rank long hops are not what you want to bowl when pitches are turning square. Hopefully, Rashid will learn from this experience before the Indian tour.

Stuart Broad: 5/10

Again, the pitches were absolutely dead and there was no help for the faster bowlers, so what would Stuart Broad do? Of course, bring out the reverse swing!

When the Bangladeshis were cruising along for victory in the second innings, it was Broad who brought the game back to life by some superb display of reverse swing.

Gareth Batty: 5/10

The 39-year-old made a return to the International fold after nearly a decade and although, he wasn’t as impactful as his Bangladeshi counterpart, Batty was decent enough spin option for England and Cook to fall on to if and when required.