Tim Abraham's Bangladesh blog: Jonny Bairstow drills, corridor golf and running clubs
Friday 28 October 2016 17:50, UK
Following England's thrilling fifth day victory in the first Test in Bangladesh, SSNHQ's cricket correspondent Tim Abraham travels with the team to Dhaka for the second...
It's back to Dhaka, the place where the tour all started, for the climax, the second and final Test of the series between Bangladesh and England, and our last port of call before going onto India.
It's a good thing names don't count for too much in this part of the world as far as boarding cards are concerned. For the internal fight, my boarding card read: BRAHAM JAM TIMOTHY. At least they got the first name right, but I'm not sure where JAM comes in though.
Once we got to the hotel, it suddenly dawned on me that I am on the team floor, with guards at the end of the corridor. After a long day, I went up to my room only to see Ben Stokes, and golf-mad Sky commentator Rob Key having a game of corridor golf, with the England all-rounder chipping on the carpet right outside my room. Thankfully, they did not go on too long.
At first practice for the Test, we were told that Jonny Bairstow was being put up for interview, and when getting some nice close up shots of his wicketkeeping routines, he turned to me and asked if I could help out. He wanted me to stand by the stumps, to basically get in the way, to create a kind of blind spot for him before taking the ball very late.
Good thing I haven't done anything to upset coach Steve Rhodes, who was pinging the tennis balls down with a racket, but I did get wrapped in the shins a few times.
Myself and Getty Images photographer Gareth Copley-Jones are keen runners, and when back home we take part in the Park Runs, that operate all over the country at 9am every Saturday. It's one if the aspects of home life that is badly missed by both of us.
When in Dhaka before, Gareth organised an impromptu "Park Run" doing 5ks, around the grounds and through the car park of the hotel, and with more interest expressed afterwards, "joggers" from the press pack turned up in their numbers for this event. It was given a kind of "be there or be square" kind of build-up, and included Sky Sports commentator Michael Atherton, and Giles Lindsay, the analyst with the England team.
It was a good bit of team bonding, in this "in-it-together" kind of tour. Running conditions were warm, quite heavy, tropical rain - it was like running in the shower. I'm afraid though it was not one of my finest moments or a "race" I care to remember.
As a keen runner, who likes to get out and about as much as I can on tour, I finished down the field, beaten by those who don't do much running at all. Worst of all I was even beaten by Chris Stocks, from The Times, who is often seen with a cigarette, and won't mind me saying, is built more for comfort than speed.
I had done a few warm-up laps before the main event, to check out the wet conditions for the others before they arrived, so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, but I shall still never live that down, and I've not been allowed to forget it.
Rumours soon swept the England camp of my terrible setback and I even got a bit of stick from Alastair Cook, who also likes his running.
Also this week, we were whisked off one evening with the team to the British High Commission. Such a lovely villa-like building in the more peaceful diplomatic quarter of this mad city of hustle and bustle. The High commissioners' quarters, offices, and residences for the Diplomatic Corps, all on one impressive, tranquil site, with a swimming pool in the garden.
We have all been so hotel-bound during this trip, it was good to get out and about. With both teams and dignitaries attending, this was a chance to celebrate the decision for England to come here despite the security fears, and to hammer home that, as far as they were concerned, it was definitely the right decision for the Bangladeshi people, and for world cricket. This was the chance for the locals to say thanks.
