It is easy to forget with all that is going on in the world and the white ball emphasis that is currently on English cricket but the headline Test series of the summer begins on Wednesday when England and India embark on a five-match series which has the potential to elevate the longer format back into the minds of the cricketing public once again.
These two sides met in India earlier in the year when conditions dictated a home win in double quick time but in English conditions this promises to be a much more level affair and the good news is we get to see the twists and turns of the story unfolding over five chapters.
Schedule
1st Test: Aug 4-8 at Trent Bridge
2nd Test: Aug 12-16 at Lord’s
3rd Test: Aug 25-29 at Headingley
4th Test: Sept 2-6 at The Oval
5th Test: Sept 10-14 at Old Trafford
England
I think it is fair to suggest that England come into this series under a fair bit of pressure when you consider that they bodged the Test series in India after winning the opening match as well as losing to New Zealand earlier in the summer when they made the controversial choice of leaving their IPL contingent out of their team. The next series after this one is scheduled to be The Ashes so England not only need to win this series but they need to look good in doing it to build confidence ahead of the winter.
England have tended to rely on winning in home conditions as almost an automatic safety valve for their overall form but New Zealand showed earlier in the summer that they can no longer do that. Were India to come to these shores and win too then you sense there could be huge implications and fallout not least when the first half of this series is being played when only white ball cricket is on the menu in county cricket.
India
It is probably wrong to say that India have nothing to lose in this series. They can probably get away with losing it because they are not the favourites to win it but another World Test Championship cycle begins in this series so there is actually something with context on it. I also think the days where India can go overseas and they be expected to lose have gone. They had a wonderful win in Australia earlier in the year and are generally a much improved side overseas.
They should be motivated to go well in this series, not only because it remains a big thing to beat England in their own conditions, but also because they had a taste of the World Test Championship final earlier in the summer but couldn’t bring the title home. That sort of thing immediately adds further motivation. If India can win a five match series in England not only does it elevate the Test cricket status back home but it really stands them out as the leading side in the world.
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Head to Head
There have been 34 previous series between these two huge cricketing nations. England have had more than the edge in those having won 19 of them compared to the 11 of India. There have also been four drawn series. The two sides have actually drawn more than either have won. There have been 49 drawn Tests out of the 126 they have played with England coming out in front in 48 of them and India victorious in 29 of them.
It is a much different picture in England however though. There have been 18 series in England and the home side have triumphed in 14 of those including the last three series. India have three wins and there is a solitary draw as well. India haven’t won a series in England since 2007 which highlights the size of their task. They have only won seven of the 62 Tests they have faced England in on tour in the country. England have 34 wins in that time and there have been 21 draws so the history is on the side of England here.
Betting
The weather is a little too indifferent for my liking at the minute and both sides have too many injuries to predict how the series will go in terms of winner and correct score but there are three player bets that I like over the course of it. The first of those comes in the form of the Top England Batsman market, one where understandably Joe Root is the favourite but should things turn sour results wise I don’t think it is going to take a lot for his batting to suffer. Rory Burns would be a fair shout in this market because he’s finally knuckling down in an England shirt but I’m going to take the chance on Zak Crawley coming good now he’s had a few good knocks for Kent and the London Spirit. It is only a year ago that he was making a double century and we shouldn’t ignore a talent like his just because he’s gone a few games without getting many. He’s seen this Indian attack in India and I fancy he can feast on it in English conditions.
I’ll take a chance that KL Rahul both gets in the side for the opening match of the series and does enough to keep his place should he do so. I like Rahul. I think he’s a quality player and it is probably a sign of how strong the Indian batting is for this series that he isn’t a guaranteed runner but the last time he played a Test in England he made a century and he’s already scored a century in the warm up match against the county select team up at Durham. I think if he can break into this side he could score a mountain of runs but it is an if that he’s in. Nevertheless I’ll pay to see how he goes.
I’ll also take Mohammad Shami to shine with the ball for India in this series. There are a couple of reasons I like him. The first and main one would be that he’s perfectly suited to English conditions with the length that he bowls and the movement that he gets. The other thing I like about him is that if the series is won early then dangerman Jasprit Bumrah might be rested with the insane amount of cricket to come in mind. That still leaves Ishant Sharma who has bags of experience in these conditions but lacks the penetrative strike action of the earlier days in his career. I don’t see the spinners going all that well over five matches so it is Shami for me here.
Tips
Back Z.Crawley Top England Series Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Coral
Back M.Shami Top India Series Bowler for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with Coral
Back them here:
Back KL.Rahul Top India Series Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Bet365
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