Paul Collingwood became the first player in ODI history to score a century and take six wickets in the same game as England maintained their grip on the NatWest Series with a 168-runs defeat of Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.

Collingwood went one better than the great Sir Vivian Richards, who had taken five wickets and scored a century against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1986/87. In doing so the Durham man reaffirmed his status as an England allrounder in his own right rather than part-time support for Andrew Flintoff.

Collingwood shared in a fourth-wicket partnership of 210 with Andrew Strauss, who made a measured 152, full of his characteristic cuts and pulls, as well as cheeky chips over the stumper, which took England to their highest ever one-day score of 391-4, and only seven runs short of Sri Lanka's world record. It helped profit from Marcus Trescothick's blistering start to the innings, with his 85 coming from only 65 balls. Then Collingwood destroyed the Bangladesh middle-order, taking six wickets for 31 runs with a superbly controlled display of medium pace, full of canny variations.

Without his bowling display Bangladesh would have made far more than their 223 all out from 45.2 overs after Mohammad Ashraful had played a wonderful innings of 94 from 52 balls. Coming on the back of his ton against Australia on Saturday it confirmed the 20-year-old as a rare and precocious talent. His first fifty came in only 21 balls, four deliveries shy of the world record, and was largely built on an audacious assault on Steve Harmison.

The Durham paceman disappeared twice for six over the leg boundary as 19 came from his opening over and Ashraful continued to treat him with disdain as 36 runs came from his first three overs.

Ashraful's runs may have brought more credence to his side's quest for international respect, but he could so easily have fallen first ball but for an incredible slice of luck. He had come to the crease to join Javed Omar (59) with the score at 30-2 after the debutant pace bowler Chris Tremlett had taken two wickets in two balls, both with awkwardly bouncing balls.

Sensationally, on the hat-trick ball, Ashraful defended a short delivery which bounced high in the air and landed on the bails, without dislodging them. But Tremlett will not be too upset. He went on to take four wickets and his figures of 4-32 from 8.2 overs were the second-best for an English bowler on debut after Adam Hollioake.

More than figures though, it was the way he bowled that impressed. With an action similar to Andy Caddick's but pitching the ball much fuller the Hampshire player bowled an impeccable line outside off stump at a pace in the mid to high eighties. He was far more impressive than Jon Lewis in his erratic opening spell and looked like a man to trouble high-quality batsmen in Test matches.

But it was Collingwood's day. He struck the ball cleanly, pulling sixes to leg, holding his cover drive in a statuesque pose and scampering quick singles.

Then he bowled with more penetration than we have seen from him before, tricking Ashraful with a canny slower ball, deceiving Habibul Bashar with another change of pace and surprising Aftab Ahmed first ball with seam movement. And, because it was his day the wickets kept coming as Javed Omar played on, Khaled Mashud was unlucky to edge down leg side and Mashrafe Mortaza threw it away with a wild slog. To complete a consummate all-round display, Collingwood, a brilliant fielder, also took a catch.

On a day of spectacular performances there was still only one contender for man of the match.

England: MP Vaughan (capt), ME Trescothick, AJ Strauss, PD Collingwood, A Flintoff, KP Pietersen, GO Jones, AF Giles, SJ Harmison, J Lewis, CT Tremlett.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt), Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Tushar Imran, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Rafique, Khaled Mashud, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tapash Baisya, Nazmul Hossain.

21 Jun, 2005