Bangladesh are brought hard down to earth

Just 48 hours after the exhilaration of their first victory on the international stage this year, Bangladesh were brought crashing down to earth by a piqued England, enduring a 144-run drubbing in the series-deciding third match of the one-day international (ODI) at Edgbaston last night. Having successfully defended 236 in the last game at Bristol, the Tigers must have taken the field with a bit more confidence than at any other time this year. Mashrafe Mortaza gave it a boost with the fourth-ball dismissal of Craig Kieswetter, but then Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott got together to bat the visitors out of the match and the series. Strauss (154) scripted the highest score by an England captain in ODIs and partnered Trott in a 250-run association for the second wicket to enter the record books as the highest partnership for the country in 50-over cricket. Ravi Bopara then played a whirlwind cameo of 45 from 16 balls as the home side put 347 for seven on the board. Tamim Iqbal (16) got the Bangladesh reply off to an entertaining start, but his stay was brief as the southpaw was outsmarted by a slower delivery from Ajmal Shahzad. His early departure, as it usually happens, killed any hopes of a spirited assault on a daunting target and the Tigers finished on 203 all out, with Bopara taking four for 38 to complete a memorable return to the national team. "A good way to bounce back after Bristol," said Strauss, the England captain in a post-match television interview, after a record-equalling fourth successive series win. "We were obviously very disappointed with our performance there, so we wanted to put it right today. "To get 340 on the board, you are going to win more times than not. We are delighted to have won the series after things went badly at Bristol and we are looking forward to the Pakistan series coming up." Strauss was adjudged the man-of-the-match and the Player of the Series. Speaking of his personal form, he said: "I have been hitting the ball really well throughout the one-dayers actually. Got a few fifties, but haven't gone on to convert those into big scores. "So I was very determined to do that today and once Trott and I got through that initial 10-over period, it was about building a really big partnership so that we could use as a launch-pad for the last 10 or 15 overs." Mortaza, the Bangladesh captain and their only bowler to show up at the game, was left disappointed with the lack of consistency in his side.

* Compiled by Ahmed Rizvi, with agencies

England Strauss c Al Hasan b Hossain 154 Kieswetter b Mortaza 0 Trott c Al Hasan b Mortaza 110 Wright c Jahurul b Mortaza 0 Collingwood c Ashraful b Hossain 8 Morgan c Tamim b Shafiul 1 Bopara not out 45 Bresnan c Tamim b Shafiul 10 Yardy not out 8 Extras 1b, 4lb, 4w, 2nb 11 Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 347 Fall of wickets: 1-1; 2-251; 3-251; 4-272; 5-280; 6-283; 7-297 Bowling: Mortaza 10-2-31-3; Shafiul 9-0-97-2; Hossain 9-0-61-2; Razzak 9-0-63-0; Al Hasan 10-0-75-0; Mahmudullah 3-0-15-0 Bangladesh Tamim c Wright b Shahzad 16 Kayes c Kieswetter b Shahzad 4 Siddique c Wright b Bresnan 25 Jahurul c Strauss b Broad 27 Al Hasan run out 6 Ashraful lbw b Bopara 13 Mahmudullah lbw b Yardy 42 Mortaza c Kieswetter b Bopara 14 Razzak c Bresnan b Bopara 27 Shafiul b Bopara 16 Hossain not out 1 Extras 3lb, 5w, 4nb 12 Total (all out, 45 overs) 203 Fall of wickets: 1-20; 2-24; 3-64; 4-77; 5-86; 6-102; 7-124; 8-180; 9-190; 10-203 Bowling: Shahzad 4-1-24-2; Bresnan 7-0-39-1; Broad 10-1-38-4; Wright 7-0-27-0; Bopara 10-1-38-4; Trott 3-0-18-0; Yardy 4-0-27-1 England win by 144 runs