Bangladesh defy grim England as Alastair Cook's fields defy logic

Jonathan Trott's first Test hundred helped England to win the Ashes. If he survives long enough to add a second, it could stave off the threat of a Test defeat by Bangladesh. Ashes-winning debutant he might be, but nobody can claim he does not have an appetite for the dirty jobs. Trott's grim but invaluable resistance turned an embarrassing morning into a day of unremitting tedium, which was some sort of improvement. But on a weekend when the England and Wales Cricket Board predicted the financial collapse of the game if the Ashes returns to free-to-air TV, it was a fair bet that nobody would bid even 100 Bangladeshi taka to show the highlights of this. Bangladesh's first innings of 419, their third-highest score in 10 years as a Test nation, was made on a docile pitch, but it is the worry that the Sher-e-Bangla surface will rapidly deteriorate that filled England with foreboding. James Tredwell (who sounds uncannily like the comedian Jeremy Hardy, but without the jokes) has talked not of cracks but platelets. As there were three small tremors in Dhaka overnight, it is to be hoped that they do not become craters. Trott is designed for a rearguard action. He ended the second day 64 not out in as many overs. He is England's most introspective batsman for years, an analytical soul with the capacity to make Mark Ramprakash seem a blithe spirit. It took him nearly four hours to reach fifty, by which time most of the small crowd were reduced to near paralysis, examining sunburn, moles or inner selves. He completed the day by ducking a bouncer and proudly contemplating his inaction, a suitable conclusion. England are the only international side never to lose to Bangladesh and Trott protected the honour. When he reached fifty, the TV displayed a wagon wheel showing several midwicket boundaries which had entered cricket statistics more easily than they had entered the memory. He is playing as an emergency opener because England omitted Michael Carberry, and got off the mark to the 33rd ball he faced — one fewer than it had taken Tamim Iqbal to reach 50 on the first morning. Life was more entertaining then, but no more committed. Alastair Cook has had a match to forget, captaining with gathering confusion, hounded by what players like to term "press-box catches" and out to a soft dismissal when England replied, slog-sweeping Abdur Razzak to Imrul Kayes at deep square-leg. Paul Collingwood fell lbw for nought as Rubel Hossain swung one back further than England have managed all series. Kevin Pietersen might be about to jet off to the IPL, but his mind remains in Dhaka. He bore his responsibilities gravely, making 45 from 99 balls. England's dressing room applauded when he reached 5,000 Test runs; only Trott seemed not to notice, staring into the mid-distance as if focused only on stumps on day five. But Pietersen did not make another run, advancing to a turning long-hop from Razzak and pushing it to short extra-cover. "All these little things help your confidence and your pride, but I don't always like to be reminded of records," he said. "This wicket is flat, an absolute road, but who knows what it will become like. It is a matter of making sure that when one team cracks, it is not us." If Cook ever develops into an authoritative England captain, and the suspicion lingers that he may never be become more than a nice guy doing his best, he will look back at this day and wince. As Bangladesh chanced their arm, and extended their overnight 330 for eight by 89 runs, his fields repeatedly defied logic. There was no need to be a Grand Professor of the Dark Arts of Field Placing to recognise that. Some of Cook's fields in this series have seemed pre-ordained, either the influence of the coach Andy Flower or the result of a highly secret video-analysis programme, in which case a virus check might now be advisable. On other occasions he has rightly bowed to a bowler's wishes. This time nobody seemed to be singing from the same hymn sheet — or if they were it was as out of tune as the Barmy Army's droning rendition of Jerusalem. Dispensing with a third-man might be an established trend, but as the vast majority of boundaries scooted off in that direction all morning, the failure to plug the gap became risible. There was not even a third slip, a more attacking option. Instead, there were legside boundary traps for balls that never remotely looked like being struck there; there were two gullies and a sort of fly gully directly behind; and there was an if-I-stand-in-his-face-at-silly-point-he-will-cower sort of theory. Shafiul Islam made his maiden first-class fifty, Naeem Islam's unbeaten 59 was his maiden Test half-century, and even the last man Rubel Hossain, a batsman of no pretensions, managed an exquisite cover drive, holding the pose in celebration. It was England's lowest point of a long winter. They will hope not to go lower.