19 Jul / 2011India in England(July-Aug)2011. Preview England

Test Ranking. Currently India is at No.1 with 125 points, and England is at No.3 with 117 points, a point behind 2^nd ranked South Africa. If England wants to become the No.1 Test side, then they just have to win the series by any margin!. –        With 1 margin win, they would level with India, and become the joint No 1. Test Team. –        With 2 margin wins, England would be No.1, and 3 points ahead of No. 2 India.   England Preview Batting Andrew Strauss form is a big concern for England, his early dismissal(20, 4, 0, & 3  were his scores in recently concluded Sri Lanka series) is not helping them to give a solid and fast start, and furthermore if first wickets falls early, then  second wicket also goes down cheaply without putting a substantial partnership. In that case, the responsibility of scoring big, @ 4.00/over  falls on to the shoulder of England’s middle order, who so far have done tremendous job of building huge partnerships and helping team post big scores. List of Batting -Partnership since 2009.     During England-Sri Lanka series( May –June 2011),  in just four Inns there were 16 scores of 50+ for English batsmen. For them Cook has been in wonderful form, along with John Trott, both have been pillars of England’s huge Totals. They also received excellent support from Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Matt Prior, all have contributed tremendously for England. Their strength lies in partnerships,  at hand there is always someone to rebuild their innings. England’s Batsmen recent(last 2 series) Performance: (The Ashes & Sri Lanka)

  In last 2 years( 25 Test matches), England’s Avg 1^st Inn score is 397, & a  score of 350 or more have been achieved regularly(17 times) by them, and so far they haven’t lost a single game with that score.     England Bowling England selectors picked Tim Bresnan over Steve Finn, a very interesting inclusion.  Finn who has been among wickets, nevertheless expensive has been ignored for the first game. Meanwhile, Bresnan is more of seam-up bowler who hits the deck hard, bowls the heavy ball, and is very economical, and can trouble India’s top order. England’s spearhead for this series would be James Anderson, and his accuracy would be the key to make early dent in India’s strong batting order. Meanwhile Chris Tremlett will be their "X Factor", and if he can maintain his line, then India’s plate will be filled with constant hostile bowling.  In spin, Graeme Swann’s revolution will come handy from day 2 in almost every Test. England’s Bowler’s recent(last 2 series)performance (The Ashes & Sri Lanka)