England make steady start against India A

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The visiting England team made a slow and steady start, reaching 79/1 at lunch, in reply to India A's first innings score of 369 all out on the second morning of their opening three-day tour game on Wednesday.

After sending back the last home team wicket in only one ball, when James Anderson trapped Vinay Kumar (25) leg before wicket at his and the team's overnight total, England began their reply in a sedate manner and also lost uncapped opener Nick Compton cheaply.

Compton was caught behind off Ashok Dinda, who got the batsman to lunge forward and edge one to Wriddhiman Saha behind the wicket in the second over of the England first innings.

Skipper Alastair Cook and one-drop Jonathan Trott played cautiously as the visitors advanced to 79/1 at lunch with the visiting team captain on 30 and his partner on 48.

The tourists were 290 runs behind the home team's score. Cook had struck five fours in his 110-minute stay off 70 balls while the right-handed Trott had eight hits to the fence in his 103-minute innings after having faced 78 balls.

Both Cook and Trott were very circumspect and played each ball on merit and the score also moved at a snail's pace.

Trott was once surprised by a Dinda bouncer that he fended. The ball landed behind the 'keeper and went for four.

Later he played a firm push off the Bengal pacer for a four to mid off and then square cut left arm Irfan Pathan for another handsome boundary. He also straight-drove Yuvraj fluently to the fence.

Cook, who would be accompanied by a new opener in the first Test starting at Ahmedabad on November 15 after the retirement of his long-time partner Andrew Strauss, played a good pull shot against Dinda for his first boundary.

Yuvraj Singh came on to bowl as early as the 12th over in place of Dinda whose first spell was an impressive 5-2-13-1. Pathan gave way to Vinay Kumar after a wicket-less stint of 7 overs for 18 runs.

Later, Parwinder Awana was given his first spell replacing Yuvraj after the latter's four-over stint. Trott drove the Delhi medium pacer off the back foot to the cover fence in the first over of the bowler.
The 50 of the partnership was raised in 108 balls and 79 minutes when Cook drove Awana for a four in the same over of the bowler.

India A captain Suresh Raina rang in quick bowling changes and as many as seven bowlers had a stint, including himself, before lunch.