James Tredwell impressed with six wickets on the opening day of England's tour match against Bangladesh A.
Kent spinner bags 6-95, Pietersen's struggles continue
James Tredwell boosted his hopes of a Test debut with six wickets but Kevin Pietersen failed again on the opening day of England's tour match against Bangladesh A in Chittagong.
Tredwell, the Kent off-spinner, claimed 6-95 as the hosts were bowled out for 202 despite a defiant century from Roqibul Hasan.
England reached stumps at 68-3 in reply but, worryingly, Pietersen was again undone early by a left-arm spinner - on this occasion Mehrab Hossain - and has now made just 49 runs in six innings in Bangladesh.
Tredwell was part of an inexperienced bowling attack as the tourists assessed their options in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the first Test, which starts on March 12.
With Stuart Broad and Graham Onions sidelined by back injuries and first-choice spinner Graeme Swann also rested, it was left to Yorkshire seamers Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad to share the new ball after Bangladesh A opted to bat first on a dry pitch.
Shahzad (1-26), another looking to press his case for a Test bow, made the first breakthrough by having Junaid Siddique caught at the wicket in the eighth over after the left-hander had scored 16 of the first 21 runs.
Bresnan (0-29) also started smoothly but without success, while Liam Plunkett's first spell lasted only two overs.
Finn impact
Steven Finn, less than 24 hours after arriving in Bangladesh, saw his first ball in an England shirt slashed to the third-man boundary but showed good character to restrict the batsmen to just one more run in his next 23 deliveries.
Shamsur Rahman (21) was second out, snared by Ian Bell at short leg despite no real appeal from Tredwell.
Roqibul showed confidence early on, striking Tredwell for a big six down the ground at the end of his sixth over but Plunkett (1-35) returned to end Mehrab's dour knock of nine and leave the score at 71-3 at lunch.
Home captain Mohammad Ashraful, hoping for a big score to secure his Test berth, mustered only one before feeding Bell a second catch off Tredwell.
Roqibul continued to play his shots and looked comfortable against Tredwell, off whom he took many of his 15 boundaries and three sixes.
But Tredwell soon had a third wicket when Shuvogoto Chowdhury (9) aimed a lofted drive down the ground. Unluckily for him the 6ft 7in figure of Finn was stationed there and he reached up to take the catch.
By now the tourists had their opponents teetering on 97-5. Shahagir Hossain helped his side past three figures, with successive fours off Tredwell along the way, but was removed for 12 when the returning Finn (2-13) coaxed the edge to Matt Prior.
The same combination accounted for Dollar Mahmud (0) five balls later. Meanwhile, Roqibul - who had reached 50 in 84 balls - eased past three figures for a well-earned century.
Tredwell, who contributed a stint on 27.3 overs, accounted for Nur Hossain (6) and Syed Rasel (1) after tea to complete his five-wicket haul, before last man Robiul Islam (4) holed out to Pietersen.
Nasty blow
Opener Michael Carberry, another England rookie, was floored by a nasty blow to the box in the second over and was gone for five moments later, Dollar (1-23) winning the lbw decision.
Jonathan Trott, who could feasibly be involved in a head-to-head with Carberry for a Test slot, came to the crease and immediately looked assured.
Of his first 20 runs, 16 came in fours and helped power England past 50 inside 10 overs.
Skipper Alastair Cook was also starting to find his feet, punching his third boundary through cover just before falling leg before to Robiul (1-27) for 19.
In came Pietersen but once again his stay was a brief one. This time he lasted just five balls before Mehrab (1-3) had him caught at the wicket for two.
Trott (32no) and Ian Bell (2no) will resume on the second morning with England trailing by 134.
Paul Collingwood, meanwhile, was rested from the match after having a cortisone injection in his shoulder. His availability for the first Test is not thought to be in question.
