Pietersen unimpressed with pitch

Kevin Pietersen has called on groundsmen to play their part in keeping Test cricket alive, describing surfaces like last week's track in Chittagong as a major threat to the format.

England eventually managed to take the 20 wickets they needed to defeat Bangladesh in the first Test, but only after a huge amount of toil and two consecutive sessions without success on days four and five.

There was next to no assistance for the seamers and even the spinners did not extract much turn, stacking the deck firmly in favour of the batsmen.

Pietersen himself may have benefited from that, scoring 99 in the tourists' first-innings total of 599 for six, but he recognises that uneven contests between bat and ball are not good for the game's long-term prospects.

"For me personally to bat on that wicket, that's fine, that's great, but I don't think those conditions are good for Test match cricket," said the 29-year-old.

"Everyone is talking about where Test cricket will be in five years and I don't think wickets like that conducive to people watching.

"On day five of a Test match you expect some spin and something in the wicket. On days three, four and five in the longer form of the game you need wickets that will produce victories or results.

"I don't think the wicket was great in terms of entertainment."

Pietersen is jetting off to play in the Indian Premier League as soon as Saturday's second Test in Mirpur finishes.

That competition is hardly lacking in hype or exposure and although he is paid handsomely for his efforts in the Twenty20 league, Pietersen is desperate to see Tests thrive as the pinnacle of the sport.

"At the end of the day I love Test match cricket but with the way it is going and the way people are negatively talking about it now...to play on a wicket like that is not good for Test cricket," he said.

"I want Test match cricket to survive for as long as possible because it tests every individual and toughens you up.

"If we had played India on that it would have been 700 plays 700 plays 100 for one.

"I mentioned it after the West Indies series last year that in order for Test match cricket to continue and be the number one game, groundsmen have a huge part to play."

Fast bowler Stuart Broad, England's most experienced international bowler in the first Test despite being just 23, missed training today after a bout of illness.

Team director Andy Flower will be hoping he overcomes that in time to play a central role on Saturday, while Steve Finn is the man most vulnerable should James Tredwell win the nod to make his debut as a second spinner.