***Official*** England in India

[Pratters]

Well this series is a fair bit away but it should be very exciting neverthless.

Predictions and test XIs?

India has test vs Pakistan in between.

 

[no1_gangsta_786]

I think England will beat India purely on the basis they will have their full strength team back and i think that team will be stronger than India's.

 

[open365]

I'm having a vision....

Vaughan overbowls Freddy in the first innings,rendering him useless with the bat as India run up a massive total.Fletch keeps his blind faith in Udal who bowls less overs than Bell. Harmison keeps his 'bowl like Hoggard atitude' and fails miserably. Giles is England's best bowler,but still returns home with an average of 30.

 

[Hodgo7]

I think England will beat India purely on the basis they will have their full strength team back and i think that team will be stronger than India's.

How do you know they will have their full strength team ? It is a while away and anything can happen with injuries. India's batting lineup is far superior than the English one.

 

[no1_gangsta_786]

How do you know they will have their full strength team ? It is a while away and anything can happen with injuries. India's batting lineup is far superior than the English one.

Ok if England have their full strength team!

 

[simmy]

All will go well if England get Simon Jones back to his Ashes form... and the batting sorts itself. Looks like Bell is going to be a decent enough #4 on the back of the Pakistan tour, but people like Vaughan, Strauss and Flintoff need to be counted with the bat.

England won't start as favs I dont think but definitely have a good chance, but Jones is the key IMO. The bowling attack can look woeful without him, especially with an old ball and the swing of Hoggard has worn off.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Starting XI for England:

Trescothick
Strauss
Vaughan*
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
G Jones+
Giles
Hoggard
Harmison
S Jones

With the other five names in the tour party being Cook, Collingwood, Prior, Blackwell, Plunkett and Tremlett.

 

[adharcric]

I think England will beat India purely on the basis they will have their full strength team back and i think that team will be stronger than India's.

When it comes to full-strength teams, India and Pakistan are on top, with only Australia higher. These two teams historically don't play to their potential, but with disciplined team managements in place, now they are doing that. So I'd count India as the favorites even with England having its full-strength team, assuming India itself is at full-strength.

Yuvraj, Kaif and Dravid usually can provide the knockout punch, but if Sehwag and Tendulkar are in form at the time, India looks strong, especially with Dhoni and Pathan late in the order. Pathan is dangerous with the new ball now, but he and his pace mates (RP Singh, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan, Agarkar?) will be tested against an England lineup which is more adept against pace.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Pathan is dangerous with the new ball now, but he and his pace mates (RP Singh, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan, Agarkar?) will be tested against an England lineup which is more adept against pace.

Likewise an Indian order which is used to taking apart mediocre spinners who are there just because "everyone plays two spinners in India" will instead have to contend with three 90mph+ reverse-swing bowlers. Should be interesting.

 

[Run like Inzy]

India will be favourites due to 5 factors:
1) Its always tough to challenge India at home
2) England will be low on confidence after loosing to Pakistan
3) India will be high on confidence after beating Sri Lanka (also the Indo Pak series may be a factor)
4) England were unable to contend with spin in Pakistan something which India has a lot of.
5) After the Indo Pak series India will have plenty of match practive whereas England will have a month and a half without cricket. (However India may suffer from exhaustion due to sheer volume of cricket they have been playing. England may benefit form this a lot)

 

[shankar]

2) England will be low on confidence after loosing to Pakistan

Actually, I think that will work against India. Any complacency/over-confidence that might have been there in the England side after the Ashes would have gone after their loss to Pak.

 

[Pratters]

England in tests is a team which always keeps fighting. The experience in Pakistan will do the players - specially those with little experience of the subcontinent loads of good.

India is a very good team at home. With Pathan developing as a bowler as well as a batsman and Dhoni providing batting lower down the order - even batting collapses higher up the order - like in the 2nd test match vs Lanka can be neutralised.

India has the edge but it should be very interesting according to me.

Prediction

2-0 to India.

 

[PY]

Think this may be a make-or-break tour for Freddie's fitness.

If we continue to run him into the ground then he's going to get seriously injured and it's going to make an already tough tour worse for England. He must be managed properly and if that means playing an extra spinner to take more overs then that might be the way forward.

However, it may mean he has to bowl more overs as there isn't a 4th seam option. Makes things interesting that's for certain.

 

[superkingdave]

Personally i think we'll be lucky to come away without a 4-0 whitewash - i'd say that was more likely than a win or draw

 

[Pratters]

Personally i think we'll be lucky to come away without a 4-0 whitewash - i'd say that was more likely than a win or draw

Its a 4 test series?

 

[superkingdave]

Its a 4 test series?

no it isn't, for some reason i thought it was

 

[marc71178]

4) England were unable to contend with spin in Pakistan something which India has a lot of.

I didn't know Akhtar bowled spin.

 

[James]

Playing India in India is the second toughest ask in cricket isn't it. If England come away with anything I think they'd be pretty happy.

If Simon Jones comes back into the lineup I would predict 1-1, otherwise 2-0 to India I would say. Will England be able to handle Kumble and Harbhajan on wearing Indian pitches is the key question obviously.

 

[grecian]

Simon Jones, is the key man for England (shame hes Welsh), until either Plunkett, anderson or Tremlett become genuine strike-bowlers, we need him so much. Takes the pressure off Freddie, meaning he can act in short-sharp bursts, and keeps the pressure on the batsmen with the old ball.

IF Jones is genuinely fit, I see 2-1 to India, if not 3-0 to India. Nothing tells me our batsmen will cope any better in India then Pakistan, they play the wrong game for the sub-continent. Recall for Mark Butcher anyone, and his first matches in One-dayers too?

 

[Jono]

Jones will a key factor, but I don't think he'll be the key to whether England win, lose or draw. I think India will go in favourites simply because they're at home, and its always a tough ask to beat them there. Harbhajan and Kumble bowling at both ends is going to torment the English batsman, but if they handle that well they will go a long way.

I do think reverse swing will be a factor, as I remember SA touring India in 2004/05 and players like Andrew Hall and DeBruyn (sp?) were getting plenty of reverse swing which troubled Sachin (granted still with elbow problems) and some other batsman. I remember Sachin being bowled and/or LBW a few times, so I can imagine what Jones and Flintoff will be able to do with the SG Ball (That reverse swings like the Duke's I believe?).

Anyway my prediction is 2-0 to India. I feel both our test and ODI teams are heading in the right direction and the Harbhajan/Kumble partnership will be the major factor contributing to the series win. I can see the English paceman (so long as Freddy and Jones are both fit) troubling India and possibly getting them for a few 280-350 scores, but at the same time I think the spinners will be able to defend that reasonably well.

Shall be a great tour, I have been looking forwad to this ever since the Ashes.