Jonathan Trott could not have wished for a gentler introduction to what could be a highly charged tour to South Africa, pushing his claim for a place in the one-day side with a confident half-century as part of an altogether impressive display by England in their opening fixture.

The silence greeting Trott’s arrival at the crease had more to do with the empty stands than a deliberate policy of frostiness by the nation he left to further his ambitions. Bloemfontein, he said, is quieter than most South African cities, while the pitch — and the Diamond Eagles bowling — was less lively than he will meet over the coming weeks.

But, with one of the top five here due to give way when Kevin Pietersen joins the party before the first one-day international on November 20, Trott has already put down a marker, and should enjoy another opportunity to impress in the second warm-up, against Warriors in Kimberley tomorrow.

He timed the ball neatly off his legs from the start, adding 123 for the second wicket with Andrew Strauss and going on to score 85 from 104 balls before playing on to Ryan Bailey, an occasional bowler of roughly the pace of Dermot Reeve.

England could not have taken much more from either innings. They needed only 26.4 overs to dismiss Diamond Eagles. Earlier, Strauss played sensibly, Morgan impressed again as a “finisher” and Luke Wright capitalised in the batting powerplay. Joe Denly is now vulnerable after losing his off stump to a fine yorker.

Trott is a viable alternative alongside Strauss, having opened for Warwickshire in one-day cricket. Pre-tour plans do have a habit of changing here: ten years ago, Michael Vaughan played so well in the opening game in Randjesfontein that he immediately leapt from being the spare batsman to the designated Test No 4.

Towards the end, Trott began to suffer from cramp — he resisted any temptation to call for a runner — and said that batting after a long break from the end of the English season felt like learning to drive. He must have meant it in a motoring sense because his front-foot pushes through mid-wicket were the pick of his strokes.

“There were a few things that I could have done better, but it was a good start,” he said. “There were no comments from the opposition. I have played against a few of them before in county cricket and it was all right.

“I am not bothered by any comments about me coming back here. I don’t have any animosity about it. Their players have said I made a decision at a young age to represent England and seem to respect that. I can’t change the way people think, I can just come here and respect my team-mates and the English and South African public.”

Morgan batted as confidently as he had in the recent Champions Trophy, while Wright’s 24 from 11 balls included a huge six swung into an incongruous-looking stand the design of which was inspired by the Holte End at Villa Park. In all, the middle and lower-middle order hit 98 runs from the last ten overs.

The last time that England faced a team dressed in orange was the World Twenty20 game against the Netherlands, which they contrived to lose. But they quickly reduced the likelihood of a repeat when Stuart Broad and James Anderson claimed four wickets in the first ten overs of the reply as the floodlights took effect.

In the absence of Graham Onions to a minor back strain, Sajid Mahmood ensured that batsmen remained under pressure, bowling with control not always present in his first spell as an international cricketer. He made further inroads, Graeme Swann settled quickly and, with Matthew Prior pulling off a neat stumping, victory came easily.

England XI
*A J Strauss c Mpitsang b Bailey 72
J L Denly b De Villiers 3
I J L Trott b Bailey 85
P D Collingwood c Bailey b De Lange 8
E J G Morgan not out 67
†M J Prior c Elgar b Du Preez 19
L J Wright run out 24
S C J Broad run out 11
Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5
Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 294
G P Swann, J M Anderson and S I Mahmood did not bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-133, 3-154, 4-186, 5-229, 6-273, 7-294.
Bowling: De Villiers 7-0-54-1; Mpitsang 8-0-46-0; Du Preez 8-0-53-1; De Lange 10-0-50-1; Tshabalala 10-0-51-0; Bailey 5-0-27-2; Elgar 2-0-11-0.

Diamond Eagles
R R Hendricks lbw b Mahmood 15
†M N van Wyk c Swann b Broad 0
R R Rossouw c Prior b Broad 17
*H H Dippenaar b Anderson 11
D Elgar c Prior b Anderson 4
R T Bailey b Mahmood 15
C D de Lange st Prior b Swann 10
D du Preez b Swann 16
C J D de Villiers c Mahmood b Collingwood 2
T Tshabalala not out 11
P V Mpitsang b Collingwood 2
Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 4) 6
Total (26.4 overs) 109
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-19, 3-32, 4-43, 5-52, 6-67, 7-93, 8-96, 9-96.
Bowling: Broad 4-0-28-2; Anderson 6-1-18-2; Mahmood 6-1-21-2; Wright 2-0-16-0; Swann 5-1-15-2; Collingwood 3.4-0-9-2.

Umpires: M Erasmus and B G Jerling.