In a jam packed cricketing calendar with so many ongoing franchise tournaments, you would be forgiven to miss the build up to one of the biggest cricketing events in the calendar this year. The sad reality in today’s world is rivalry in test cricket at the moment is focused on the big three India, England and Australia. With no disrespect to the others but in terms of competitiveness, quality of cricket, excitement for the fans and what these series mean for the players, the other match ups don’t quite make the cut. The relevance of test cricket hasn’t been as threatened as it is today. However a series such as India vs England could be a reminder of why we love this form of the game so much.

The History

A rivalry which started almost 100 years ago even before India got independence from the British, this cricketing contest has seen some memorable encounters. In the last 92 years India and England have faced off against each other in 35 test series and England have won 19 of these series, India winning 11 and 5 drawn series. The early days were so one sided that India only won only 2 test matches against England between 1932 and 1959 and India had just a few cricketers who would really stand up to England, the likes of Mankad, Merchant and Umrigar often holding the fort. England would boast a very strong team with the likes of Hammond, Statham, Barrington etc. The 60s,70s and 80s really marked a shift in how competitive India got as a cricketing nation. From winning their first ever overseas series with the 71 win in England, India also started to dominate at home with England only winning two series in India between this time period. Some greats of the game were always on show from both sides with the likes of Botham, Willis, Underwood, Gatting, Wadekar, Pataudi, Gavaskar, Dev and Bedi to name just a few. The 90s and the 00s marked a full shift to India starting to completely dominate England at home and being much more competitive in England too. In fact England only won 2 series against India between 1990 – 2010 that too by just a single test (1990 and 1996) in England and won just 1 test in India in this period. This period unearthed the golden generation of Indian cricket in Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag, Laxman, Kumble and of course a few stalwarts from England too with the likes of Atherton, Stewart, Hussain, Fraser, Vaughan, Flintoff, Pietersen, Cook and Anderson. The last 14 years of this rivalry have arguably been a bit of a mixed bag. The conditions have really dictated terms with the home teams winning comfortably in most series. The away teams would threaten but would eventually fizzle out. The last series in 2022 in England was probably the most competitive series between the two sides since 2012. And here’s hoping the likes of Sharma, Kohli, Bumrah, Ashwin, Root, Stokes, Bairstow and Anderson deliver another classic.

The Conditions and the Venues

Even before a ball has been bowled there has been plenty documented on the venues. The commercial rationale is clear, BCCI gave the usual venues (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore) key games at the WC. Giving smaller venues hosting rights for a series like this shows the perceived value for test cricket as a business product. As a fan I’m disappointed not to have a more balanced selection of venues, surprised to not even see places like Mohali, Nagpur, Ahmedabad etc. If we see test matches being played in empty stadiums this will be a poor advert for the greatest format of the game.

So lets address the elephant in the room, the playing surfaces. My personal opinion is, first and foremost everyone needs to stop moaning, especially the pundits. The beauty of test cricket has always been the different conditions teams get exposed to in every country and grounds they play in. There seems to be a battle between ex cricketers from the subcontinent vs SENA in terms of what is a good pitch vs what’s not. The first question i have is what is the definition of a good cricket pitch for test cricket in 2024? The traditional definition has been good pace and bounce, pitch to play well the first three days with spin coming into it from days 4 and 5. The key being that test matches should go the distance with an equal contest between bat and ball. I would challenge this definition of a good pitch. If the pitch offers seam/spin from the start but its not dangerous and the match finishes in 3 days is that really a bad pitch? Having a placid pitch for three days and then it suddenly coming to life only for the game to stumble to a draw is not going to appeal to the audience of today. I feel batters in world cricket also don’t have the patience to stick it out in tough periods and then cash in once the ball looses its shine or the pitch levels out a bit. The other key contributing factor is the limited preparation teams get before tours such as this. England have no warm up games and have been practicing in Abu Dhabi. Any artificial wicket they create there will not be what they will face in India, plus the whole feel of the country, the atmosphere, weather etc is not the same.

I’m sure the pitches we will get in this series will be dust bowls, but I feel with both teams playing attacking cricket we will get lots exciting moments throughout and ill be surprised if many matches go the full 5 days. I am fully braced for the social media wars between ex players from this week!

Players on Show

This series is going to mark the end of an era for players on both sides, which creates a fascinating subplot. I suspect Stokes, Anderson and Root are playing their last series in India, and even from India’s team Sharma, Ashwin, Kohli might not be around when England visit next.

Openers

Duck’ley (Zak Crawley & Ben Duckett) have established themselves as a reliable opening pair and have paused the revolving door for now. Scoring at more than 5 runs an over and both averaged over 40 last year. This series is the greatest challenge for this pair and I’m intrigued to see how they continue their development. They both have played in India 2016 and 2021 respectively but struggled against spin. They will face Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar with the new ball and they will need a strong defence to support the aggression. Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal will start as the first choice openers and are also an aggressive pair. I’m really looking forward to seeing the veteran Anderson taking the ball across Jaiswal and getting him to fish, a mode of dismissal which hasn’t gone unnoticed. I think Rohit Sharma will hold the key and I see him playing a Sehwag-esque role in the series.

Middle Orders

Gill, Kohli (hopefully after the 2nd test), Rahul vs Pope, Root, Stokes. Just writing these names has really got me excited for this middle order battle. I think the weak links here are probably the number 3 batters. Gill has faded away in test cricket recently and not backed up the strong performance from 2021. Pope is returning from a long lay off and this is a hell of a cauldron to walk into. Kohli vs Root is probably where this series could be won or lost. Root averaged more than 65 last year and Kohli more than 55, and were back to their best. Who ever bats better and shepherds the rest of the order around them could dictate where the trophy goes at the end of the day. They are both the best batsman in their teams and lots will be expected from them. As I write this post its been announced Kohli will miss the first two tests, which is a big blow. It will be interesting to see how they replace him, whether they play Gill, Rahul, Shreyas or bring back the more seasoned professional Pujara will be interesting to see. The loss of Brook will be huge for England but perhaps Bairstow will need to play that aggressive role.

Wicket Keepers

Its strange to think I’m giving wicket keepers their own little section here, but that’s how important I think they are. I expect Bharat and Foakes to start as they are the best keepers across both sides. Good to see Bharat gets runs against the lions last week which will give him confidence. His keeping hasn’t been the issue but his contribution in the middle could be crucial if we have a low scoring series. Foakes deserves his place back, and has a golden opportunity to cement it with a strong showing. KL Rahul has done a commendable job as keeper but India need his batting more than his keeping here especially if Kohli is not around for the first two tests. Dhruv Jurel is a good back up and it will be a great experience for him to be around the side.

Quicks

Bumrah and Siraj vs Anderson, Wood and Robinson. With all the attention on the spinners underestimating the quicks will be a poor bit of planning. Dharamshala and Hyderabad probably provide the best opportunities for wickets with a bit of bounce, but i full expect reverse swing to come into reckoning too. India would hope Shami is able to play a role at some stage and he and Bumrah could be lethal. Wood and Anderson are also excellent exponents of reverse swing. I think Robinson could struggle as he’s a hit the deck bowler and I don’t see any lateral movement on these wickets. I also feel batsman will come hard at the quicks as they probably will be the best opportunity to score, so the field setting, planning and execution will be key when the quicks operate.

Spinners

Ashwin, Jadeja, Patel and Yadav vs Leach, Ahmed and Bashir. On paper this is the most lopsided of contests, i could bluntly say any one India’s spinners could walk into England’s XI but none of England’s spinners would even make the Indian 15. This is where i feel England will really struggle if the indian batsman start to dominate them early it could be a long series for them. Leach had a good showing in the last tour with 18 wickets going at 3.2, this is pretty good considering how Pant went after him early on. He only has Jaiswal and Jadeja to worry about this time, and i feel if Jaiswal is still in by the time Leach comes on to bowl, he will definitely take him on. Ahmed and Bashir have a huge task on their hands but hopefully we get to see a new star born for England to take over the mantle from Ali and Rashid who have left the format.

The Indian spinners need no introduction and are expected to wipe the floor with England. Ashwin and Jadeja are certain starters, but there is a choice point between Patel and Yadav. The aggressive option would be to go with Yadav, but if they go with Bharat as keeper and take out Shreyas it does leave the batting a little thin.

Prediction

If the weather holds up and we don’t lose days due to rain, I see all the matches going to a result due to the nature of pitches i suspect we will see. I am an optimist for a close series so I predict a 3-2 Indian victory. I think England could catch India cold in the first game and with Kohli also not playing in the first two tests it provides a good opportunity. Its been a trend in recent England tours of India, when England make a good start but then cannot sustain it, we saw this in Chennai last time, and even in Rajkot in 2016 when India hung on for the draw. Most pundits are going for more of a one sided series to India, but I think with both Kohli and Shami missing from the Indian line up for the early part of the series, its more of a level playing field and this England side has grit and positivity and they wont crumble like other England teams have done in the past.

I think the series promises to be a cracker, I hope we see some old school sledging/banter, a good balance between bat and ball and a a riveting contest for the ages.

Bring on Thursday!