England-Bangladesh, Day One: England on Top after Jonathan Trott Ton

A majestic 175 from Jonathan Trott sealed a dominating day for England after being put into bat by Bangladesh.

Early on, this decision appeared to be the right one as the Bangladeshi seamers moved the ball around well off the surface. Shahadat and Rubel Hossain bowled with good pace and posed a threat, but ultimately struggled to consistently find their line and lengths.

They were rewarded with an early breakthrough as Hossain moved one up the slope to Alistair Cook. Asoka De Silva deemed this out despite obvious doubt over height; no referral system is in place for this series.

Captain Strauss and Trott at no point allowed the loss to ruffle any feathers, both playing comfortably until lunch, ending on 105-1.

The pair carried on their partnership with disappointing ease, little danger coming from the Bangladeshi attack. The one annoyance to Strauss came from his own teammate: Carefree running from Trott almost saw him being run out after lackadaisical running on a couple of singles.

It was always going to come down to concentration as the dismissal of Strauss proved by the off spin of Mahmudullah. A lazy, unnecessary shot saw the England captain play onto his stumps for 83.

This of course brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease for his first test appearance as a father. He began in typical flamboyant style, striking four early boundaries. KP appeared to be stuck in 20-20 mode as he inexplicably attempted to force Sakib through cover only to be bowled for 18.

Confidence for Ian Bell was of course high; before his innings of 17 today he averaged 252 against Bangladesh. Captain Sakib allowed Bell to coast to 17 with negative field placings, yet a great delivery from Rubel that nipped back to hit middle considerably cut this average. Many were quick to question Bell’s noncommittal footwork, neither back nor forward.

The moment most had anticipated but not expected today was the first glimpse of Eoin Morgan in action. The debutant got straight off the mark and oozed confidence, exactly as the team and management had hoped and predicted. There was even time for Morgan to injure Kayes at short leg, causing him to leave the field—an interesting start to his test career.

Eventually ending the day on 40, hopes will be very high that he can become the sixth man to score a century on debut at Lords.

Meanwhile, Trott ended on 175 with 17 boundaries, his highest test score. This could be integral to Trott’s summer after a questionable winter but no one can deny the quality with which he scored his runs today, giving not an inch to the Bangladesh bowling attack.