Cool hand Thorpe steadies the ship.

Byline: By Myles Hodgson

Graham Thorpe utilised his experience of the Sub-continent's unique challenges to re-assure England both on and off the pitch during an eventful third day of the inaugural Test against Test minnows Bangladesh.

Having enjoyed great success during previous tours to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, the 34-year-old left-hander is something of an expert inside the tourists' dressing room when it comes to cricket matters in this part of the world and his advice is regularly sought by the younger members of the tour squad.

That knowledge will have been invaluable over the course of the day, which not only resulted in England recording the lowest ever all-out total by a touring team in a Bangladesh Test but also featured a controversial climax to the day following a floodlight failure.

But far from becoming concerned by a day which went nothing like England would have liked, Thorpe was a reassuring picture of composure as the tourists re-grouped and attempted to force home an important victory.

The Surrey batsman had already demonstrated his expertise with a determined 64 in difficult conditions which could not prevent England slumping to 295 all out and thus eclipsing the 296 registered by West Indies at Chittagong last year.

But perhaps his biggest gift to England's younger squad members was his laidback attitude to the floodlight failure which caused the premature halt to the day's play shortly after Bangladesh had lost a wicket and slumped to 12 for one having already conceded a 92-run first-innings deficit.

While Bangladesh's batsmen understandably took the offer of the light, England registered their disappointment at having their momentum halted by staying as a team out in the middle - an action which could have been interpreted as a protest.

Thorpe and the other senior players, though, will have taken the opportunity to remind their younger contemporaries that this is just a normal day on the Sub-continent and conspiracy theories should be discarded quickly.

"We stayed out in the middle because we thought they would be back on pretty quickly but didn't so we had a little chat about how they day had gone and we'll come back tomorrow with our heads up," explained Thorpe.

"We'd have loved to have have picked up two or three wickets tonight and set Bangladesh back - it's unfortunate but we certainly would not believe that anything had gone on behind the scenes." While Thorpe may have explained away the power failure, which also affected the lights inside the dressing room but did not seem to disrupt other areas of the ground, England's failure to build on a promising position overnight may not be as easily understood.

But having battled their way to a decent but anything but decisive advantage, Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison picked up where he left off in the previous innings when he attempted to build on his first five-wicket haul.

Harmison induced opener Rajin Saleh into fending a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Chris Read but only two more deliveries were allowed before the umpires offered the bad light.