Bresnan takes Lions share

Tim Bresnan showed his class with the bat in a chanceless innings © Getty Images

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An England Lions failure for Andrew Strauss was offset by the promise of centurion Tim Bresnan and Joe Denly against India at Chelmsford.

With the first Test looming next week, it was the continuation of Strauss’ patchy form which was perhaps the most significant factor on a first day when Bresnan (116 not out) and Denly (83) both served notice of major careers to come.

Their combined efforts helped the Lions to 379 for eight, Bresnan’s eighth-wicket stand of 129 in 31 overs with Stuart Broad (50) dominating a final session in which the India attack lacked bite.

The 22-year-old chose his shots wisely, clubbing the old ball when it was misdirected and greeting the second new ball with a flurry of handsomely-timed boundaries.

By the time he completed his 141-ball hundred with his 12th four - off his legs off Zaheer Khan - to go with the only six of the day, Bresnan was looking more like a top-order batsman than his billing as a bowling all-rounder.

Denly’s near run-a-ball innings had earlier contained some superlative front-foot shots among his 16 fours on an easy-paced pitch.

Captain Strauss, however, could make only a laboured single from 17 deliveries before he missed an attempted drive at Zaheer (3-99) who knocked off-stump out of the ground.

While the established England opener was enduring a tough time, his first-wicket partner Denly became the Lions’ ’driving’ force.

Joe Denly gave the innings some impetus at the top of the batting order © Getty Images

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The 21-year-old Kent batsman announced himself by straight-driving Zaheer for successive fours; then in company with Owais Shah - after Strauss had won the toss on an initially cloudy morning - Denly tucked into the left-armer again, striking him for five boundaries in the ninth over.

All but one came from the middle of the bat and were again variations of the drive.

Shah disappointingly hooked Sri Sreesanth into the hands of Zaheer at long-leg.

But Jonathan Trott joined Denly for a third-wicket stand of 80, which ended shortly after lunch when the latter tried to copy his partner with a big hit over long-on from the bowling of off-spinner Ramesh Powar but failed to get to the pitch and was stumped.

Trott soon edged a wide delivery to first slip off Zaheer, and Tim Ambrose nicked a full-length ball behind from the same bowler.

When Adil Rashid drove a return catch back at Powar without scoring, three wickets had fallen for 11 runs.

But Ravi Bopara and Bresnan halted the mid-afternoon collapse, the powerfully-built Yorkshireman’s early six - over long-on off Powar - coming on a ground which witnessed 28 maximums as Essex and Nottinghamshire racked up almost 1,500 runs earlier this week.

Bopara was engaged in more studied reconnaissance until Sachin Tendulkar brought himself on for an over before tea and, with just his fifth delivery, had the Essex all-rounder pushing a sharp catch off the face of the bat to short-leg.

That, however, was as good as it got for the tourists.

Broad had a little luck, dropped behind on 12 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off slow left-armer Yuvraj Singh and on 22 when Powar put one down on the run at deep midwicket from a pull at teenage pace bowler Ishant Sharma.

Bresnan, meanwhile, was chanceless - and growing substantially in confidence on the way to his second hundred of the summer as the Indians wilted.

Broad stood tall too to produce some resounding drives and pulls of his own until he was caught at point off Sreesanth on a day which nonetheless closed with the young Lions in fine fettle.