One side of the ground at Mohali rejoices in the name of the Ambuja Cement end. Yesterday nobody took the hint, but today nearly everyone got stuck in. Deep Dasgupta's innings was pure grey adhesive, and the 137 runs he and Anil Kumble made were all a bonus for Sourav Ganguly. After England's tail had done nothing, India's managed to wag by lunchtime today. The England bowlers did their best to respond in kind, sticking to the task, filling the cracks. Nasser Hussain said at the weekend that they would have to bowl six good balls an over, not five and a half like they get away with at home, and they came pretty close. Given that only Craig White had bowled in a Test on the subcontinent before, and only James Ormond had been in England's last Test team, they were remarkably adequate. A bunch of young men born in the mid-Seventies played like it was 1963-64.

But where England most needed glue - in the hands of their catchers behind the wicket - there was only butter. Jamie Foster dropped a near-sitter, as he was too inclined to do in Zimbabwe in October, Mark Butcher got both hands to a sharp edge and spilt it, just as he had at Lord's in July, and Andy Flintoff, after bowling better than he ever has for England except at Durban, blotted one of his more clued-up days by fumbling a hard chance low to his left at slip off the very decent Richard Dawson.

In Zimbabwe or in England, there is usually another chance coming along in a minute. In Asia, it can be a long, long wait. Hussain often talks about wanting to stay in the game, and you can't do it if you don't hold your catches. Yesterday, England blew their big chance; today they missed several smaller ones. For Uhu, read boo-hoo.

England are already in a predicament that was widely predicted, and largely thanks to the lower-order batting. Their total of 238 was even lower than they averaged in India last time round (257). Nobody is to blame except maybe the selectors. In his column last night, Nasser was sympathetic to his nervous novices, which is good management but obscures the fact that it didn't have to be this way.

Even after all their withdrawals, England could have had a perfectly experienced bottom four: Jack Russell (who made a Dasgupta-like hundred against India in 1996, and quietly retracted his international retirement last summer), Martin Bicknell, Alex Tudor and Phil Tufnell. They would bat better than this lot, and they might even bowl better too.

Tim de Lisle is editor of Wisden.com.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd