ENGLAND Lions slipped to a six-wicket defeat against a more experienced Bangladesh A side in Chittagong.
The tourists won the toss and chose to bat but were skittled for 139 despite Jos Buttler’s mature 45, Hossain Al Amin taking three for 18. And opener Imrul Kayes made a half-century before fellow Test player Mahmudullah saw the Bangladeshis to their target with 17 overs to spare.
England lost their first wicket with just 10 on the board, Jason Roy falling to Alauddin Babu, before Al Amin took centre stage.
The paceman removed Joe Root, James Vince and James Taylor in a devastating spell to leave the Lions 38 for four.
Buttler attempted to rebuild, reining in his usual brutal hitting as he put on 46 with Jonny Bairstow (22) and 38 with Scott Borthwick (17), but the last five wickets fell for 17 runs as Noor Hossain took three for 32. The hosts’ opening partnership reached 47 before Danny Briggs removed Rony Talukder, and Kayes then added another 41 with Jahurul Islam before Briggs (two for 45) struck again.
Kayes reached 53 before falling to Nathan Buck, and the Leicestershire paceman then had Shuvagoto Hom caught behind as his two overs both ended as wicket maidens. But Mahmudullah made an unbeaten 38 from 42 balls to finish the job in the first of seven tour matches between the sides, who meet again at the same venue tomorrow.
