England Bowlers Must Beware Ides of March ; Tamim Flays Swann and Co, so What Would Australia Do?

Summary

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THOSE seeking clues as to how England may fare in their attempts to keep the Ashes out of eager Australian hands this winter might have cause to reflect on the 12th over of Bangladesh's innings on day one of the second Test. Graeme Swann, now officially ranked the second best bowler in world Test cricket, delivered it, and mainly to Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal. From the five balls he bowled to him, 19 runs were smashed around the Shere Bangla Stadium. Straight- drive for four, slogsweep for four, on-drive for four and straightdrive for six -- why, the cheeky beggar even took a single to keep the strike.

Tamim may never become Geoff Boycott's idea of a Test opener, but when he raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd's applause for his 50 from 34 balls, he was on course to beat Viv Richards' world record for the quickest Test ton ever (56).

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England Bowlers Must Beware Ides of March ; Tamim Flays Swann and Co, so What Would Australia Do?

He looked certain to reach three figures in the 73 balls he needed to set a record for the fastest century ever made in Asia, and seemed nailed on to join Victor Trumper, Charlie McCartney, Don Bradman an...

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