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Preview to the 2nd Test by BV Swagath

Things are not looking good at all in England at all. Floods have created havoc in lot of regions across the country and at Nottingham, it is no different. Trent Bridge, the stadium at Nottingham which is hosting the Second Test from today is completely battered by incessant rains in the last few day. Not a single day has passed without showers recently and that is what is the forecast for the next five days of the Test Match. It is learnt that Trent Bridge is quite inferior to Lord's in terms of the drainage system. The two teams might just have to draw this Test Match if things go like this leaving the last test at The Oval as the Series Decider!

There is lot of optimism regarding this Test Match. The England team which just couldn't get to practice outdoors just like their counterparts believe that there is a game on. The English weather as such is highly unpredictable, there could be showers which can be followed with bright sunshine. Although the forecast for the next five days is for showers, it is much better than what it is so far. Both England and India are likely to field the same players that figured in the drawn Lord's Test.

India's worry going into this Test Match was the fitness of Sourav Ganguly who had a back spasm during the first Test. But the Southpaw has passed a fitness test yesterday which means that Yuvraj Singh who was named in the 12 will have to sit out. England have also revealed their playing XI by sending Stuart Broad back to his county, Leicestershire. The batting line-ups of both the sides will be tested as the ball will no doubt swing around. In such case, even three and a half days of proper cricket can yield a result.

One major factor that was dominating the Indian batting method was being overcautious. Almost all the batsmen batted in the same fashion, staying at the crease, but not collecting enough runs on the board. There is a bit of unorthodox cricket that is required sometimes to get on top of the bowling. With England having a raw attack, it makes sense for the matured Indian middle order to put them under pressure with some aggressive strokeplay. This is where Virender Sehwag might be missed by the tourists. Both Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik have allowed the bowlers to bowl their line and so has been the case with other batsmen.

The positive coming out of the Indian batting at Lord's was the performance from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Samson of Indian Cricket proved his worth in the side with his great innings under pressure on the fifth day. Dhoni is a jewel in Indian Cricket and cannot be wasted on the bench. He is as useful as any other star batsman is, so why to even think of dropping him? India's success depends largely on Rahul Dravid as he adds up lot of solidity at one end. His early exit in both the innings at Lord's gave the opposition lot of boost. For Sachin Tendulkar, it is again time to prove his critics wrong, he is yet again excused of chickening out when it really matters. Now can the Master as they say get his bat do the talking??

The ideal mantra for a batsman of any side is to make use of the start and convert that into a three-figure score. Kevin Pietersen was a perfect example for that. England can look back at the Lord's Test and find that the wickets of Strauss and Vaughan were thrown away when both batsmen were taking England to a formidable position. Mistakes like these had given a window of opportunity for the opposition to come back. Otherwise, the first day could have been it for England in the Lord's Test. The bowling from both sides looked good enough to take 20 wickets in a test match. Now what remains to be seen is that can these young boys match the consistency levels and sustain it? It is not that difficult at all considering that this is just a three-match series. So all set for the second test at Nottingham where rain and swing will be the big factors ruling the outcome of the Test!

England : Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (Captain), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matthew Prior (Wicket Keeper), Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom

India (Likely XI) : Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar (Vice-Captain), Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper), Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh

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