Briggs maintains appetite for fight

Danny Briggs is out for revenge after Bangladesh Under-19s' 2-1 victory in July's one-day series on English soil

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Dismissing Bangladesh Under-19 batsmen for fun could be something of an anticlimax for Danny Briggs after a debut season in which he accounted for Marcus Trescothick, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jacques Rudolph.

But the the 18-year-old left-arm spinner is determined to maintain his high standards in the seven-match one-day series, which begins in Chittagong tomorrow.

Hampshire’s Briggs, who hails from the Isle of Wight, claimed eight wickets as England Under-19s slipped to an agonising two-wicket defeat on Monday in the one-off Test.

However, they warmed up for the 50-over encounters - a format in which Briggs believes England are superior - with a 117-run thrashing of their Bangladesh counterparts in yesterday’s practice match.

Briggs will have to back up his bold assertion, particularly after he could not prevent Bangladesh completing a 2-1 win in July’s rain-hit one-day series on home soil.

But he believes in a formula that worked in last weekend’s Test, just as it did against Trescothick, Chanderpaul and Rudolph.

“It helps being out here with the wickets spinning, which is nice,” he told ecb.co.uk.

“I think I tried to be patient and keep on going as well, not be too phased by what they were doing and their run-chase. Trying to keep it consistent was my main thing, trying to play it patient and concentrate on what I was doing.

“I think we’ve got a few views on different batsmen, which obviously helps before the one-dayers. If we can try and pull off some of the plans we’ve brought up, it will give us an advantage.

“We had a practice game yesterday, which we won convincingly. Mentally I think we’re ahead of them in the one-day game.”

Briggs was one of several players rested in yesterday’s triumph, at the Jahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium - also the venue for the Test and the first ODI.

Invigorated by the rest, after completing 42 overs on the last two days of the Test, he knows the squad have been lifted out of the doldrums.

Chittagong, the venue of last weekend's Test and yesterday's 50-over practice match, will host the first ODI tomorrow

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“Everyone was down after we lost that first match, after it was so close as well. Everyone felt a bit hard done by,” Briggs admitted.

“Yesterday’s match has just boosted everyone’s confidence on and off the field, the coaching staff as well. It’s got us back on track and going into the first match we’re more confident than them, but hopeful that will serve us well.”

Having spent a week in Chittagong, the tourists move on to Fatullah for the next four games before the rubber concludes with two contests in Dhaka.

Despite the daunting schedule, the confident Briggs feels ready for the challenges of the next fortnight.

“Hopefully if we get off to a good start tomorrow we can carry it on throughout the next two weeks. It’s going to be pretty busy and should be quite tough,” he added.

“If we get off to a good start and put them on the back foot straight away I think it will help us through the series.”

Recognising momentum is key, Briggs believes England’s began on an ultimately sour last day of the Test.

The tourists began in the ascendancy but collapsed to 107 all out, leaving Bangladesh 175 for victory in a little under two sessions.

Briggs broke a 50-run opening stand and ran through the middle order with 5-50 in 20 overs to leave the hosts teetering 128 for seven.

However, England could not shift wicketkeeper-batsman Anamul Haque, whose stubborn unbeaten 58 saw Bangladesh to a nervy victory.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Anamul Haque will again be a major threat after his match-winning innings in the one-off Test

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“We had time lost in the first two days but the whole last day was a brilliant battle and as a unit we all bowled really well; we built a lot of pressure. It was obviously disappointing with decisions that didn’t go our way,” Briggs lamented.

“Overall we were happy with our performance on the last day - the way we bowled, fielded and backed up. It was all good, an encouraging day of cricket.

“They had one batsman (Anamul) that was in and set. That was the main challenge really. If we could get him that would have been the game.

“They were eight down by the end of the game. We had a few chances with him as well on the way to 60-odd not out. I think if we were better a bit earlier we were definitely in with a chance of winning.”

Briggs is desperate to taste victory in competitive four-day cricket, having played in the three LV= County Championship draws with Hampshire this season.

The first of those, against Somerset at the Rose Bowl in late August, was his first-class debut and former South Africa international Zander de Bruyn became his first victim in the second innings. Trescothick followed in his next over, the second of his eight championship victims.

“The first first-class wicket is a big highlight and to follow that up with a few good performances afterwards boosted my confidence as well,” Briggs recalled.

“It boosted my confidence as a player coming out here. Back then it was just thinking the same things (as in Bangladesh) and simple games of patience.

“A good ball is a good ball to any player. If I can just carry on and keep it simple really, the better I can be.”