In some quarters this has been dismissed as a mismatch: Gulliver in the land of Lilliput. One writer even went as far as to say that Bangladesh were a danger to England’s future planning precisely because of how bad the home team are.

But Gulliver awoke in Lilliput to find himself enchained, as England may do here if they are significantly below their best.

Statistically, it should be a walkover: the Ashes holders against a team who have won only three Tests — and those against Zimbabwe and a weakened West Indies — since their elevation to full-member status almost a decade ago. Yet the current is unpredictable enough for red flags to be planted.

England have a new captain, they have injuries, they are unbalanced, their best batsmen is short of runs and conditions favour the home team. Alastair Cook will lead out England for the first time in Tests tomorrow and, in the way of fresh, young captains, there were no danger signs flashing from him yesterday.

He emphasised, as he must, that it would be a “capital offence” to underestimate Bangladesh, but was confident that the ethos within the team would help England to prevail.

Cook revealed that Graham Onions had not recovered sufficiently from back trouble to be considered, but then, having learnt from the master, Andrew Strauss, gave away little more. Stuart Broad bowled at virtually full pace in the nets and, provided that there is no reaction, he looks likely to play alongside two spinners.

But that, for England, is where the selection certainties end. “These are the type of decisions that make the job interesting,” Andy Flower said after the three-day practice match against Bangladesh A. Interesting, yes, but England’s puzzle is short of a piece and, however long the team director pores over the puzzle between now and the start of play, he is not going to be able to complete it.

If they play six batsmen, and Matt Prior at No 7, then, with two spinners a certainty, only two seam bowlers can play, one of whom will be Broad. This is risky and, in any case, the pitch in the three-day game that finished on Tuesday did enough to suggest that two seam bowlers may not be enough.

If they play five batsmen, with the wicketkeeper at No 6, they will have a makeshift opener alongside Cook and a tail longer than a ship’s rat. Nothing quite fits.

The problem is the lack of a genuine all-rounder, someone who can bat at Nos 6 or 7 and be a good enough third seam bowler. The man earmarked for this role is Luke Wright, but he did not play in this winter’s Test series in South Africa, nor did he in the three-day game here. His continued presence is a puzzle in itself — why pick him if they are not going to play him?

What will England do? The likeliest option is that they will play six batsmen, plus Prior, two seam bowlers and two spinners, hoping that Paul Collingwood’s seamers and cutters will be enough to back up the new-ball bowlers. This would mean a first cap for Michael Carberry, opening alongside Cook, another for Tim Bresnan, but no debut for Steven Finn.

Playing two seam bowlers is a high-risk strategy, especially with one of them recovering from back problems, but the logic behind the selection is sound enough. Bangladesh will go in with only two seam bowlers, along with three spinners, and, as we saw in the three-day match here, spin will dominate.

Two of Bangladesh’s slow bowlers, Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzaq, will be left-armers and all eyes will be on them and Kevin Pietersen for the battle that will ensue. If there is a correlation between talent, determination, desire and hard work and performance — there usually is — Pietersen will score a mountain of runs in this series. He was heard to say after netting ferociously on Tuesday that “something’s clicked”.

This might be kidology or it might be that the small changes he has been working on suddenly feel natural. For the first time in a long time Pietersen has something to prove and that may be the making of him again — in the way it was when he appeared on the scene six years ago.

The home team suffered a significant setback yesterday when Raqibul Hasan, who scored an unbeaten hundred and a fifty in the practice match just completed, announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. The 22-year-old is said to be upset at being left out of Bangladesh’s preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 and their one-day series against England.