A bowling change, as Hom replaces Shakib. The first ball is short and Cook cracks it away for two, before a low full toss is given the treatment it deserves, smashed off Cook's pads for a boundary. There was a note delivered to Mushfiqur just after the last over, presumably encouraging him to give Hom a go. He'll need his bowler to be tighter than that.

50 for Cookpublished at 30 overs

30 overs

Eng 118-2

Image source, Reuters

Two runs for Cook brings up his half-century, celebrated with a wave of the bat and a glove punch with Ballance. It's come from 101 deliveries, with four boundaries. He and Ballance trade singles back and forth throughout this Mehedi over. It's pretty murky weather out in Dhaka.

Shakib serves up a poor ball down the leg side and Cook sweeps, but there's a fielder down in the deep to cut it off. Ballance jogs a single, before Cook nabs the strike off the final ball. They're doing enough to stop Bangladesh drying the runs up completley. It's hard to believe there's still two days left in this Test. 

Gavin Irvine: I think this is the kind of pitch where you have to add four wickets to the score to make a proper assessment of how you're doing.

Mickey Wallis: Gary Ballance, what are you made of? Hugely important innings coming up. Under the cosh now England.

Mehedi needs to draw Ballance forward. He'll be happy to stay in his crease and straight bat the deliveries away for as long as he can. There's a few ooh's from behind the stumps as Ballance is late on a fuller ball that turns a little, and that will be another maiden.

Vince Kenny: No offence Amy but is Matt available?

RSB: Oh Amy, Amy, Amy.... Now look what you've gone and done! ;-)

If you look at the positives, I've saved Cook from getting out. Admittedly I've cost England two wickets, but there we go...

I still can't believe that was missing the stumps. It looked out. I'd be a terrible umpire. Cook puts the sweep shot away for the next Shakib over, contenting himself with jabbing a short ball into Mominul at short leg. That's a maiden.

Charles Dagnall
BBC Test Match Special

Bangladesh can't believe it. I am staggered that's missing the leg stump. Cook has a big grin on his face. Has someone lent on Hawk-Eye at the crucial moment and edged the ball past?

Cook will retain the strike after working a single off the final ball. Poor Umpire Dharmasena. That's around half his decisions that have been overturned in this series.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England batter on BBC Test Match Special

He's a lucky man and Cook knows it.

That looked absolutely stone dead out, and yet, it's missing. That's unbelievable.

Cook, down on one knee to sweep, missed it and the ball cannoned into his front pad. It looked for all the money in the world like it would hit the stump, yet it's just inching past leg! Cook has a wry little grin on his face. Mushfiqur er, doesn't.

Oh is that another one?! Cook is given out lbw to Mehedi - it took a long time for umpire Dharmasena to give that - but he's reviewed it.

Ballance gets off the mark from his first ball, prodding one that drifted onto his pads away for a single. Replay shows that Root decision would have been umpire's call on impact, but it looked more out live than it did on the replay. It was very full. Ballance counteracts the spin by dancing down the pitch, and nurdles into the covers for a single.

Tom: Has there ever been an England 2-0 series win with no centurions? 

It's happened four times, Tom, occuring three times in the nineteenth century. It's happened once in the 'modern' era so to speak, when England won 2-0 against New Zealand in 1954-55. Thanks to stats king Andrew Samson for that.

Here's Joe Root, hopefully recovered from that stomach bug. He works his first ball past mid-wicket for a single, before Cook sweeps a legside loosener away for four. Nicely done. Mehedi draws Cook forward, and the England captain is content to pat away the rest of the over.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England batter on BBC Test Match Special

Duckett didn't have the foot movement to counter the low bounce. You have to reset yourself after an interval but Duckett didn't really look switched on.

Cheers, Matt. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that from England. It was a nice surprise as I washed down my full English breakfast with a triple berry cheesecake. A breakfast of champions.

The players are back on their way out - how do we see this one ending?