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England India Test
As it happened, England claimed a 3-0 ODI series victory over a much-maligned India side at the end of what had proved to be a long summer.
Now the Indian summer begins and England must be careful not to be scorched by the searing heat which will greet them on the field both by the conditions and the arena around them.
There is no doubting India displayed a backbone during that ODI series defeat that simply wasn’t there for the test matches; in fact, the longer the series went on the longer the tourists had more reason to believe that they were destined to walk away from England empty handed, such was the ill fortune that held them back.
Players such as Ajinkya Rahane provided the sorely missed sparkle that had been eroded away in the longer form of the game; Suresh Raina showed there is some substance to his game when he put in a series of knocks that defied belif given his underwhelming exploits while wearing white.
Come the shorter from of the game, MS Dhoni in particular appeared liberated by the burden of test captaincy, and looked more at home in his natural blue, free to do as he pleased with the bat while adhering to the more formulaic rules of captaincy that come with the shorter game.
Of course they will be without Rahul Dravid. The great man himself has stepped out of the arena he made his home for such a long time, leaving a hole in the Indian batting lineup that may not be filled for quite some time.
India’s injury worries are well publicised, but the confidence that courses through English veins has left their own little injury crisis go almost unnoticed.
Perhaps their finest ODI player, Eoin Morgan is facing surgery on a chronic shoulder problem that could rule him out for up to 12 weeks. Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson will be absent as one recovers from injury and the other rests up after a long year.
Although Kevin Pietersen has been recalled to bridge the gap and Ravi Bopara, the most enigmatic figure in English cricket, has found form, there are doubts around this England side and how they will hold up on the sub-continent.
India’s greatest flaw during their trip to England was their bowling attack. Toothless at best and useless at worst, India, when not inconvenienced by weather were unsure of what a decent total to defend was because there appeared to be no limit to the amount of runs that would flow from their bowlers.
Now without Broad and Anderson, England will face a similar examination against players on home soil playing on pitched they are familiar with. The absence of Broad and Anderson certainly reduces the bite and experience of the English attack – the chips that were so heavily stacked in England’s favour over the summer are starting to even out.
Of course there is plenty of young talent to step up and make heroes of themselves. Jade Dernbach has slotted into the attack wonderfully in the shorter form of the game, and with Tim Bresnan and Bopara on board to needle and nag away with Graeme Swann in toe, England have plenty of resources at their disposal. They must be careful not be complacent however, this is a different animal they are facing on their home patch. Now they face a real test of how good an ODI team they really are.
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