Innings of the day
Tamim Iqbal's onslaught was a cut above everything else that occurred on the first day. A cut, and a drive, and a mow through midwicket for that matter. He needed a touch of luck to get going as two of his first three fours were edges, but once he'd decided that today was his day, there was nothing that England could do to dissuade him. In particular, he treated England's new world No. 2 bowler, Graeme Swann, with utter contempt, beasting him for three fours and a six from consecutive deliveries to hurtle along to a 34-ball fifty. And his innings was still purring at 74 not out from 48 when the mid-session drinks break arrived to disrupt his focus. Sadly for Bangladesh, he never quite regained the upper hand again.
Punchbag of the day
Sometimes the ball just follows you around the field, and when you are a Test captain with an awful lot on your mind - as Alastair Cook was during Tamim's fireworks - you tend to wish it would just go away. Instead, Cook was pursued as if by an angry hornet from the moment, in the ninth over, when he got both hands to Tamim's regulation clip to mid-on, but flapped the chance to the turf. Three overs before lunch, Mahmudullah poked a catch through his hands at silly point, soon after the resumption, he wore a drive on the toe that, to judge by his agonised reaction, deserved to be given out as a rebound catch to Prior. Another chance burst through his hands before he could react, and another drive cracked him painfully on the calf. Still, only four more days in the firing line, then Andrew Strauss can take over once again.
Debut of the day
James Tredwell was unlucky to miss out in the first Test, but this time England accepted that a second spinner was essential. And so it proved as he chimed in with two vital breakthroughs in a torrid first-day's work. It was he who extracted Tamim for 85 - conceivably a touch unluckily as the ball looped off his forearm with no obvious deflection via bat - and he later returned to nail Shakib Al Hasan on the sweep, as the captain's eagerness to reach his half-century lured him into a less-than-ideal stroke. Bowling with flight and patience, and extracting a hint of turn as well, he more than justified his inclusion in a 29-over effort.
Debut of the day Mk 2
Jahurul Islam would not have been playing in this Test had it not been for Raqibul Hasan's much-publicised fit of pique in the build-up to the Chittagong match, and though Jamie Siddons said that he would have welcomed Raqibul straight back into the team, the BCB's chose instead to impose a three-month ban for the disruption his "retirement" had caused. So Jahurul was given his chance, after an impressive season which culminated in a century and a fifty for Rajshahi in the recent National League final. Alas, he wasn't able to replicate that form. After seeing off five dot-balls from Tredwell, he was pushed back into his stumps by Swann, and pinned lbw for a duck.
Bowling change of the day
England's decision to play five bowlers was justified from the moment Tamim started laying into their collective resources. Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn bowled five overs between them out of the first 50 of the innings, having conceded 45 runs in their new-ball burst, but when Finn returned with tea in the offing, his height and pace paid instant dividends. Mahmudullah had played with great composure for his 59 from 106 balls, but he couldn't help but skew a loose drive to Paul Collingwood at backward point from the very first delivery of the new spell.
Coaching session of the day
Shortly after lunch, Collingwood underwent some running repairs on the dislocated finger that has been giving him problems ever since the Durban Test in December, and which he seemed to have aggravated while spilling a sharp slip catch in the opening exchanges of the match. However, the discussion that took place by the boundary's edge - between the vice-captain, the physio, and an extremely animated England coach, Andy Flower - seemed to have far less to do with fingers, and far more to do with finger-pointing. It wasn't quite like watching Fergie prowling in the technical area, but the overall impression was clear enough. England needed to sharpen up their act, and the suggestions from the dressing-room were soon relayed to young captain Cook.
Recovery of the day
Swann was introduced to the attack with unseemly haste this morning, rushed in Red Adair-style as early as the eighth over after Tamim had left their best-laid plans in tatters. However, after five chastising overs, he had figures of 0 for 43, and was looking a bit singed for arguably the first time in a Test match since his nervy Ashes debut at Cardiff back in July. But slowly but surely he regained his poise - aided in no small part by Tamim's departure - and by the end of the day he was back where he belongs at the top of England's wickets tally. With figures of 30-4-94-3, you'd hardly have noticed the punishment he took early on.