After Bangladesh’s victory, Nasser Hussain praises England’s top order, saying they “got their tempo absolutely spot on”

The English top-order’s strategy in their second match of the ICC ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh on Tuesday has been praised by the team’s former captain, Nasser Hussain.

The top three batters in the game exceeded the 50-run threshold, aiding England in amassing a whopping 364 runs. Dawid Malan struck up a century as Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root hit 52 and 82 respectively.

Hussain feels the three batsmen could display their skill since they merely played conventional strokes instead of taking excessive risks.

“I thought the England top three got their tempo absolutely spot on here in Dharamshala. Without actually struggling at any moment, Bairstow, Malan and Root were outstanding, hitting true cricket shots,” Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

England made a poor start to their ODI World Cup campaign, suffering a 9-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the tournament opener.

As per Hussain, the win against Bangladesh would serve as a tremendous confidence boost for the Jos Buttler-led squad. The 55-year-old also looked pretty satisfied with the English bowling team, notably Reece Topley who replaced Moeen Ali in the eleven.

Topley put on an entertaining display upon his return to the club. The 29-year-old stormed through the Bangladesh top-order and concluded with four wickets under his belt.

“On his recall, Reece Topley was magnificent with the new ball at the other end, bowling that bail-trimming length, and getting the ball to swing and bounce from his extra height,” Hussain wrote.

Captain Buttler also got commendation from Hussain for offering confidence to Chris Woakes, who was trying to rediscover his form.

The cricketer-turned-commentator feels Buttler assessed the situation well and went for correct field settings as per the demands of his bowlers. “It was exceptionally good captaincy from Buttler- giving Topley a couple of slips up front and keeping Woakes going when short of form and confidence,” Hussain said.

Coming in to chase the enormous goal, Bangladesh experienced a stunning collapse over the first 10 overs. Four batsmen including skipper Shakib Al Hasan returned to the pavilion for single-digit scores.

However, opener Litton Das remained in the game and worked with Mushfiqur Rahim to start the rescue effort. Rahim also reached 50, scoring 51 runs off of 64 balls before being removed for 76 runs, along with Das. But despite their best efforts, they were unable to earn the victory. In the end, Bangladesh was bowled out for 227 runs.