England's Destabilised Double Ducks

Quite what the Silver Fox in his Cape Town lair would have made of this is too frightening to contemplate. Duncan Fletcher had complained that questioning the form of Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood had a destabilizing effect on the England team. Well, Bell managed three balls and Collingwood four. The likelihood is that the former England coach would have looked askance at his live television feed and wandered off into the kitchen in need of a strong cup of tea.

It might be tempting to make the scathing observation that the innings offered by Collingwood and Bell were not as much double duck as Donald Duck were it not for fear of the immediate destabilizing effect that might occur. Fletcher's analysis of the pressures caused by chopping and changing has merit in general terms, but it hardly seems appropriate in this situation. England's top six do not seem remotely jittery. There is no sense that Bell and Collingwood are failing because of the fear of losing their places.

Bell is a class act; Collingwood is a great scrapper. Yet their departure to Kyle Mills without scoring in successive overs – Bell playing across a fullish ball and Collingwood jabbing at one – meant England declined immediately after lunch from 84-3 to 86-5 and ensured that this is yet another Test that they must contest without wresting an immediate position of authority. It certainly makes this series against New Zealand more interesting, but it is no way for England to promote themselves as serious contenders against Australia next summer.

Don't be too hard on Bell. He did manage to middle one today, but sadly it was before the start of play and Mark Nicholas was unfortunate enough to get in the way of it. For Nicholas to have a bump on the forehead from a full-blooded Bell drive might be regarded as one of the unluckiest ways to get injured this summer, but it will have still troubled the make-up department on Channel 5.

Such is Collingwood's poor form that had he struck MCJ, TV's most urbane commentator would have been so unharmed that he could have cushioned the ball on his head, indulged in a few keepie-uppies and then announced to the camera with a winning smile that he intended to support Croatia in Euro 2008.

The ball swung consistently, as expected at Trent Bridge - enough to keep the cricket constantly interesting, and to ensure that no batsman could ever feel entirely settled, but not enough for England to claim that batting was quite so onerous as they made it seem.

That was not all down to Bell and Collingwood. Michael Vaughan looked in mint form, but for such a talented batsman he has an unhealthy habit of being bowled by inconsequential deliveries. He will not look at replays of the ball from Iain O'Brien with much pride.

Andrew Strauss' organized morning's resistance spoke volumes about his rediscovered method, but his lapse in the first over of the afternoon was a reminder of last summer as he flashed at a wide one from Kyle Mills.