BACK in the sweet shop, England batted as if a ­prankster had planted jellybeans on a good length.

Of course, nobody would be silly enough to do that in a Test match.

But unless they wake up and smell the toffee, No.1 in the Test rankings will remain more elusive than a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

Four years ago at Trent Bridge, Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan blew his top after discovering, er, ­jellybeans on a good length.

England paid for Ian Bell's jolly jape with a defeat which cost them the series, and all confectioners' leave in Nottingham was cancelled for the rematch. Sure enough, even without the injured Zaheer, India's seam bowlers were like a bunch of kids let loose in a sweet shop when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won an important toss.

Whether it was Praveen Kumar's corkscrew swing, Ishant Sharma's extra bounce or the recalled Sree ­Sreesanth's late movement away from the right-hander, England made a right pick 'n' mix of it.

There have been few terror tracks at Trent Bridge since Australian openers Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh were so ­traumatised by England's heavy ­artillery in 1989 the tourists ­struggled to 301-0 on day one. After England had slumped to a derisory defeat, and went 4-0 down in the Ashes, on Devon Malcolm's debut, chairman of selectors Ted Dexter scoured the horizon for crumbs of comfort.

"And who can forget Malcolm Devon," ­blustered Lord Ted. Or should that be Ted Lord? One man's sugar cubes are another man's pear drops, but this Test could yet turn out to be a low-scoring classic. With the exception of Graeme Swann's dismissal, which climbed off the back of a jellybean length to smack him on the top hand, most of the wickets to fall were the product of ­sideways movement or ­misadventure.

Stuart Broad showed what can be achieved if you swish like D'Artagnan's sword instead of ­prodding and poking like your gran knitting a jumper.

But it remains to be seen whether England's 221 is worth a mint – or if their hopes of seizing the No.1 spot in Nottingham are humbug.

Follow Daily Mirror cricket correspondent Dean Wilson on Twitter at CricketMirror