Seven-wicket victory comes with plenty to spare as Prior leads visitors' charge with fine performance with the bat
Fatullah: ‘Hang the DJ' was one of Morrissey's more forthright lines during his Smiths heyday and 4,000 Bangladeshi cricket supporters probably agreed with him on Thursday, when Matt Prior was reprieved after being caught at long-on because the music was still pounding while he played his shot.
Prior had made 52 at the time and noticed the umpire's call of "dead ball" only after he had hoicked it down the fielder's throat while the Bangla pop of "Pretty Girls Dancing" blared from the loudspeakers. Not that the wicket would have altered the result of a match that England, who dismissed the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI to 151 for eight in 37 overs, won by seven wickets with 70 balls to spare.
Prior ceded the wicket-keeping gloves to Craig Kieswetter for this game, so he needed to make some runs just to keep his name in the mix for tomorrow's opening one-day international. Once he had settled he played some pleasing shots, especially against Mahmudul Hasan's off-spin.
Yet, it is his batting, rather than his keeping, that is giving England cause for concern, as Andy Flower, the team director, confirmed. "Today was an opportunity for Matt to spend some time in the middle," he said. "Batting at six or seven is a specialist area and he's shown glimpses of good skill."