Honeymoon over for Joe ... he has to deliver now
HOME COMFORTS
ENGLAND have not lost a home series since 2014 and most Test sides struggle on their travels so England are slight favourites. But Joe Root’s team will have to be at their best because any slight weakness will be pounced on by this ruthless India. Cricket is in their blood and they are here to win.
BATTING IS A REASON TO BE FEARFUL
ENGLAND need to nail down their opening partnership because great sides are built on formidable openers. Since Andrew Strauss went they’ve gone round in circles and now it’s Keaton Jennings’ (below) turn again. England’s whole batting line-up will have to fire because first innings runs are absolutely crucial.
You might be able to get away with scoring 300 against some other sides but not India. The captain is key to that. Pretty 60s and 70s from Joe Root might win certain games but when India’s batsmen get in they tend to go big. England must do the same.
CLASH OF THE CAPTAINS
I THINK Joe is still learning but the honeymoon is over and this will be a big test of his captaincy. He did OK in the winter with the cards he was dealt but there were some errors against Pakistan and now he has to deliver tactically.
What I want most from Root, though, is not Brearleyesque leadership but big runs. Captains such as Graham Gooch led the way with the bat and Joe has to convert his starts now.
I’ve always found Virat Kohli unusual because he’s an attacking player and an ‘ in your face’ character but his captaincy can be defensive. Even in India last time when he won 4-0 there were times when his side were miles in front and he’d just have a slip and short leg. He will have to attack in England and hold his nerve when things go against him.
If he’s all happy and smiley I would be happy as an England player. He drives the side when he’s angry and has a point to prove.
KEEP THE BIG TWO ON THE PARK
THERE has been talk of rotating Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad as there will be five Tests in six weeks but there is a big drop- off to the rest of the attack. Broad and Anderson are worldclass bowlers but the rest of England’s attack are finding their way.
So it’s essential those two stay fit and firing and if they do I would play them in all five Tests and rest them for the Sri Lanka tour if necessary. They must learn from past mistakes too and keep the ball pitched up even if they leak a few runs.
JIMMY v VIRAT
THE Anderson-Kohli battle will be fascinating and decisive. Jimmy got him four times in 50 balls on India’s last visit here but Kohli has changed his technique since then after speaking to Sachin Tendulkar and gets further forward now. It’s just if he gets out early doors the same way, nicking off, as he did in 2014, all those memories will come flooding back and the mind games will start again.
RASHID UNDER ATTACK
I’VE been taken aback by some of the vitriol aimed at Adil Rashid. I’ve been against his selection because of the precedent it sets but I’m not anti-Rashid. Some of the attacks on him have been personal and how he copes with that, especially as a lone spinner, will be crucial.
How Root handles him will be key. Look back to his last Test in Chennai late in 2016 and Alastair Cook often gave him the safety blanket of sweepers that he relishes in white-ball cricket. But it was noticeable that when the then captain wanted to attack and brought men round the bat Rashid started bowling long hops and full tosses. He is a better bowler now but he will have to cope with pressure. Now he’s playing we must wish him well and after the furore of the last week I’d ease him in with some sweepers and a one- day field, and slowly bring men in as his confidence grows.
...AND ASHWIN SHOULD BE UNDER ATTACK TOO
ENGLAND have a lot of left-handers and the way they play Ravichandran Ashwin in particular is vital. And if the left-armer Kuldeep Yadav plays there will be some rough for him to work with too. Ashwin was all over Ben Stokes last time and Cook didn’t play him as well as he has in the past but that was in India. Ashwin can be a lesser bowler when batsmen get after him. Once the England middle order get in they might want to target him.