Bangladesh Bounce Back

England continue to find new ways to thrill the Cricket World Cup followers - in this case by giving the home fans what thay craved. Redemption. After the one-sided debacle when the West Indies overcame them in barely 30 overs, the crowd was desperate for something to cheer about, and given England's patchy performances so far, they had to think they had half a chance.

Once again, an England match came down to the wire. They could just as easily have a 5-0 record as an 0-5 record in this tournament, so it's probably fitting it's now 2-2-1 after this loss. How they can beat South Africa and tie with India yet lose to Ireland and Bangladesh is genuine cause for concern, and probably some hair grafts to replace that handfuls that now lie under their supporters' chairs across the globe.

After a relatively uneventful England knock of 225 on a difficult wicket, headlined by Trott and Morgan, Bangladesh's top order made a good fist of the chase. Despite a brief stumble, the game was well in hand at 3-154 in the 31st over when Imrul Kayes got a bit carried away and was run out attempting a second run, that was neither on or neccessary. Suddenly nerves seemed to get the better of Bangladesh and they could barely score. Overs came and went, for a single here or there, with plenty of dot balls in between. Wickets were suddenly coming as freely as scoring shots as Bangladesh skidded to 8/169 in the 40th over. In 9 overs they had lost 5/15 and England seemed destined to end Bangladesh's campaign. However, some loose England bowling, headlined by a procession of wides from Jimmy Anderson, and some increasingly confident batting from Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam combined to get Bangladesh home with an over to spare. Extras were 33 of Bangladesh's total, 23 of those wides, and that probably made the difference at the end of the day.

If the West Indies can beat England , Bangladesh maysteal the last quarter final spot at England's expense. England's players look like they are ready to leave, but the tournament may be the poorer for the exit given the five tight results we've seen so far.