The tourists began the fourth day expecting to take control of the match - with Bangladesh resuming 80 adrift on 12 for one.

But instead they were confronted with a determined display from a side ranked as the worst in Test cricket by the official rankings.

Without a victory in 24 Tests and having lost all but one, Bangladesh progressed into a healthy 153-run lead by the close on 245 for six.

They know England will not only have to dismiss them quickly on Saturday but also chase a victory target on a wicket showing signs of deteriorating bounce.

England toiled for 42 overs on the fourth before they finally made a breakthrough, Habibul Bashar falling in the over before lunch having forged a 108-run stand with opener Hannan Sarkar.

Attempting to drive off-spinner Gareth Batty, Habibul instead edged to the safe hands of Marcus Trescothick at slip and was followed five overs after the interval by Alok Kapali, who mistimed an attempted pull off Steve Harmison and gave Mark Butcher a running catch from short leg.

But perhaps England's most important breakthrough was the removal of opener Sarkar two overs later, ending his 207 minutes of resistance for his 59 when he also edged straight to Trescothick at slip.

Sensing that Bangladesh were about to live up to their lowly ranking, England had wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud brilliantly caught by a diving Nasser Hussain at silly point to earn Ashley Giles his first wicket of the series.

Just as England moved in for the kill, they found themselves unable to make any more inroads for a further 25 overs.

Having taken the new ball seven overs earlier, England were beginning to despair when Matthew Hoggard appealed as Javed Omar played across the line attempting to clip through midwicket.

The ball thudded into his pads, and umpire Asoka de Silva raised his finger to end a productive 43-run sixth-wicket stand with Mushfiqur Rahman.

Television replays confirmed, though, that the ball had hit the batsman's pad only after getting a big inside edge off his bat.

That decision gave England a lifeline. But their lack of penetration continued, and they were unable to find another breakthrough in the remaining 11 overs before bad light ended play with 11 overs remaining.

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