England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 29 March 2010 /

Frank Gregan has no truck with the naysayers - England were set a task in Bangladesh and passed it with flying colours

Opinion is divided as to whether or not England's tour of Bangladesh was a success. It's a perspective thing, revolving around the old chestnut of the half full/half empty glass or indeed if the question is asked before or after one has taken his medication!

England played three One Day Internationals and won them all as well as winning both Test matches, one by 181 runs and the other by nine wickets. You've got to be very picky to find fault with those results, so what's all the fuss about?

The quality of the opposition is the first gripe for all the pessimists that believed the tour was a cricketing mismatch. Bangladesh are the Dog and Duck of Test cricket and many critics believe that not only should England have defeated them they should have massacred them. Bangladesh should have been restricted to double figures with the bat allowing England to bat once and win with two-and-a-half days to spare. The fact that both Test matches entered the fourth day let alone the fifth is viewed by many edgy pre-medication takers as a disgrace to the memory of WG Grace!

The second bone of contention was the squad selection for the tour with skipper Andrew Strauss deciding he didn't fancy it and would rather stay at home and catch up on the gardening. It could be argued that if Strauss couldn't be bothered with a tour of Bangladesh why should anyone else give a flying fig?

But let's take a look at it from the other angle, Mr Evenly Balanced, a 'glass isn't half empty or half full it's just a drink for goodness sake' - type of guy. The results were superb, a clean sweep on foreign soil and as for the quality of their opponents Alistair Cook and his men could only beat what was put in front of them. Bangladesh are improving and provided stiffer opposition than expected and that can only be for the good of the game.

Strauss decided to rest instead of taking part in the tour. Fair play to him and the ECB for having the guts to make such a controversial decision. The skipper's job has become something of a poisoned chalice in recent years and if he is to stay fresh, focussed and up for the challenge he must be given the chance to re-charge his batteries. A captain's contribution to a tour is far greater than any other player and if Strauss feels he needed a rest then it is right and proper that the ECB agreed.

England have been talking up their win and so they should. They would've been subjected to some wicked press had they lost a Test match out there and having come through the tour unscathed they are entitled to look back on a job well done. Coach Andy Flower has been clever with his praise singling out those who need it most and his endorsement of Tim Bresnan will have boosted the swing bowler's confidence.

Bresnan wasn't included in the original touring party but latched onto the opportunity that came his way when Ryan Sidebottom got injured and he seized his chance, managing to find the holy grail of swing bowling, reverse swing both ways. Stand in skipper Alastair Cook was also singled out for praise by his coach, Flower saying that Cook had "grown every day and his batting has thrived with the extra responsibility."

England's next Test tour will be a somewhat stiffer affair - the Ashes! The market is in its infancy with the Aussies at [1.57], England at [4.9] and a drawn series [6.2]. It's probably wiser to look at the recent South African tour rather than Bangladesh as an indication of England's chances Down Under. The series draw against the mighty Proteas shows how good this England team is.

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