Andrew Strauss finds time to show off as England beat Bangladesh

The record books will show another comprehensive and comfortable win for England over Bangladesh, and yet another in a depressing sequence of Test match losses for the visitors. Such bare facts do not tell the story of a Bangladesh side that has improved significantly since their last visit here, who batted with real determination and panache but whose bowling, seam in particular, despite the five wickets for Shahadat Hossain in the first England innings, is woefully short of class. This afternoon, having been bowled out for 382 in their second innings and thus asked to defend only 160, and with the paramount need therefore to make England work for their runs, they threw them at the opposition in such profligate manner it might have been confetti at a wedding. Once Andrew Strauss had cut and pulled the first two legitimate deliveries of the innings to the boundary, any slender doubt as to the outcome had already been removed, the only issue being how long before the terrific crowd, hundreds of whom had been forced to endure queues of an hour or more outside the ground because of inadequate turnstiles, were able to wend their way home again. The spinners shackled the innings for a while after an initial burst had seen 50 arrive in a shade over six overs and, for the second time in the game, Alastair Cook found himself victim to a duff lbw decision from Asoka de Silva. But Strauss played with casual freedom at odds with his first innings, cutting, sweeping and, once, waltzing merrily down the pitch and lofting over the infield. If his attempted switch-hit was as unbecoming as your dad disco dancing (was he trying to prove something?), then he still reached his 50 from only one delivery more than had Tamim Iqbal the previous day, and had made 82 from 88 balls, a romp, when he edged an attempted cut to the keeper. By then though, only 13 were needed. The tea kettle was just coming to the boil when Jonathan Trott clipped the winning runs. England won while giving an overall performance that was below the standard they would find acceptable. The first innings was underpinned by Trott's marathon and Strauss's capacity to hang in when not at his best: there had been a real opportunity for Bangladesh to do damage which they were unable to take. With the exception of Steven Finn, who was outstanding throughout, the bowling, especially first time around, looked red-ball rusty, as Andy Flower suggested when talking specifically yesterday of Tim Bresnan. Only when the clouds rolled over did things get livelier – a worry still for an enduring England problem has been taking wickets in alien conditions. However, by the time the match was done there were signs that Jimmy Anderson had begun to sort out his away swing, which bodes well for his use of the new ball in any circumstance. Of Finn, there is no doubt that he is now a central plank in future England bowling attacks. Already his pace is more than adequate and it will get faster as he gains strength, providing that this does not come at the expense of suppleness: stretching was more important to the great West Indians for example than was pumping iron. He has had some good first-class cricket already this season but miles in his legs will help, for yesterday evening, after a trying day, he began to flag and his pace was down significantly. It will help too if he can find a way to stay on his feet after bowling, for it goes beyond the merely ungainly to a state where he could injure himself. There have been many bowlers who, quite literally, bowl themselves over but he spends more time on the deck than Horatio Hornblower. Finn's eight-over spell this morning, in sullen bowling conditions once more, was the clincher in him gaining the man-of-the-match award over Trott and Tamim. The ball swung for Anderson but it was Finn who did the damage, removing Shakib to a low catch in the gully by Eoin Morgan, the resourceful diligent Junaid Siddique for 74 to go with his 58 in the first innings – a tame end to a battling innings as he stopped a drive and poked a gentle catch to mid-off – and Mushfiqur, the Mighty Atom, caught behind from a snorter that bounced and held its line. Five for 87 was Finn's reward when Strauss finally removed him from the attack and if he had his sights on one more to become the first England bowler to take 10 in a match at here since Ian Botham 32 years ago, then nine for 187 will do. Bresnan finished the innings. The circus now moves to Old Trafford for the second Test which begins on Friday, and the England selectors are meeting tonight to discuss any changes to the side. The conditions there are expected to be even more conducive to pace, and there are still memories of Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar in tandem routing Pakistan. Finn could enjoy a second bonanza. Whether Flower's remarks about Bresnan could be seen as a precursor to him being sent for a championship game are nullified by Yorkshire not having a match next week. Most likely is that an unchanged squad will be announced, and the same balance to the final XI, with the option of including Ajmal Shahzad for Bresnan.