by And so begins the spectacular eagle via Vizag, with England set to land in bustling Hyderabad on Sunday for a five-Test series against India that begins on Thursday; begin an eight-week journey where they fly back and forth across the country before ending up at the foot of the Himalayas.
The first watches are sure to be happy at the peak of the snow when they arrive in Dharamsala for the league final in mid-March, with the size of the task between now and again on par. It has been 11 years and a month since India last felt the pain of a Test series win on home soil – a memorable 2-1 victory for Alastair Cook’s side at the end of 2012 – and no side has even kept them in a draw for the way .
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Australia were 1-0 up in 2016 and came back 2-0 down 12 months ago. England won the first Test on what turned out to be a very grim pandemic tour in 2021. But those three losses were anomalous for India, their only setback during a scorching run of 36 wins in 46 Tests at home . Two World Test Championship finals in English conditions may have finished second in recent years but his own patch is now a stronghold.
Of the current Indian squad, three others, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are all unknown to have been present in Nagpur when Cook’s class of 2012 carved out a significant part of England’s history. The trio were central to the juggernaut that followed, Kohli trying to be himself captain and master batsman, Ashwin and Jadeja forming a lethal spin partnership that led to both all-rounder status.
Things have changed little since England was last here. Rohit Sharma has replaced Kohli as captain, and the D’Artagnan-like swish of Rishabh Pant – instrumental in India’s then 3-1 win – is yet to return after a horrific car accident at the end of 2022. It seems that Cheteshwar Pujara is retired , while Mohammed Shami is not fit for the first two Tests, that defeat in the World Cup final in Australia – an undesirable end to a personally golden campaign – is his latest outing.
Even with a few notable absences, as well as a spot or two refreshed by India’s ever-expanding talent factory, what people have confidence in is the ominous opposition and especially with the ball SG in hand. Ashwin, the No. 1 Test bowler 1 in the world and 10 wickets short of 500, is one of three Indians in the top five of the International Cricket Council’s rankings, along with the pace bowling of spinner Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm spinner Jadeja.
So what are the chances of Ben Stokes joining Douglas Jardine (1933-34), Tony Greig (1976-77), David Gower (1984-85) and Cook as the only England men’s captain in India? The hosts’ recent record and England’s front-line attack on a spin that boasts 36 Test caps – 35 of which belong to Jack Leach, returning from a lower back stress fracture – makes it difficult to file him anywhere but the drawer marked “slim”.
If there is hope, a reason to put everything on Lloyd Christmas, it may be found that no side has approached this most difficult of tours as England will. India is the latest canvas for the Bazball project and Stokes, 13 wins from 18 Tests as full-time captain, has vowed to “do things differently” on recent visits. Another matter is the length of this with the end result.
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Not that England claim to be concerned about the scoreline, wedded to the principle of experimenting, having a laugh and seeing where it takes them. Putting aside serious concerns about their attack, which is further hampered by the fact that Stokes is unlikely to bowl but is likely to need all his ingenuity, this is where the of greatest interest: how a team that hit 4.8 runs per over for 18 months fared. a country where Ashwin spins a sticky web and only a few sides are overrun by three others.
High-wire action is on the cards when it comes to turning tracks, and the outcome is likely to make England’s preparations look back. Stokes and Brendon McCullum have received some support that there is a method to the madness that many people think. They can also refer to the same approach against Pakistan last winter, when they dropped in like a parachute regiment and claimed an unprecedented 3-0 clean sweep.
There is the wider question of where England’s first Test series since last summer’s Ashes sits in the grand scheme of things, the world of the franchise swelling every week. It is also being staged away from the major centers in India – Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam (aka Vizag), Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamshala – although whether this represents a lesser stature for the series is up for debate. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has more than 25 international venues to keep sweet and the middle three have not made it to the World Cup matches.
Either way, and whichever way they go about it, England have a mountain to climb.
