England's captain Andrew Strauss believes Stuart Broad can play his part in taking on the touring India side. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PAThe statisticians may have added some spice by telling us that if England win the series against India by two clear Tests they will be ranked No1 in the world. But this series does not really need it.
The galacticos are here, probably for the last time: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman. Perhaps we might also include the man who may now be richer than them all, MS Dhoni. Virender Sehwag, who will not be around for the first two Tests, may well have the credentials as well.
Even without Sehwag India are a delight to watch. They have the best batsmen in the world (Yuvraj Singh, no less, may not make their Test side), the canniest bowlers and some of the worst fieldsmen. England have not beaten them in a Test series since 1996 when the likes of Ronnie Irani, Peter Martin and Alan Mullally were somehow too much for Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Co.
England's recent record is not too shabby either. Since they lost in the Caribbean in 2009 soon after Andrew Strauss took the helm, England have won seven of their last eight series while drawing with South Africa.
So the cricket should be of high quality and keenly contested. We should not take too much notice of India's desultory efforts in the field at Taunton. Moreover, if there is a dull moment in the series, there is the added piquancy of England's old coach, Duncan Fletcher, now taking on that role for India.
Fletcher, by his standards, was in gregarious mood with his old mates in the press at Taunton, but from now onwards only the early birds watching the net practices will see much of him in this series. He prefers bonding with players rather than press. Strauss is not too concerned that his old mentor is now on the other side. "The planning is an important part of a Test series but what happens in the middle is always slightly divorced from the plan," he says. "You have got to be able to adapt to what the pitch is playing like on a given day, what the opposition are doing, and no coach can help you with that. That is something you have got to do out in the middle either as a bowling side or a batting side."
So we are not about to embark on a rarefied game of chess between the two Zimbabweans – Fletcher and Andy Flower – with the players of both sides their pawns. Over the past few years Strauss has become as close to Flower as he was to Fletcher. "They are different characters," he says. "There are a lot of similarities; they are both very loyal, they have both got very good cricket brains but they are different personalities completely. It doesn't mean they are not equally effective."
For Strauss Flower is more a collaborator than a mentor and he is more important to him now. But that does not mean that Strauss is about to deny the massive contribution of Fletcher to England's cricketers in the recent past.
"He made me aware of what Test cricket actually entailed," he maintains. "He is a great father figure; he has been there, done it all, seen it all and once he worked with you for a while it was very hard not to be loyal to him as a bloke.
"Cricket is in his veins, he loves the game and there is no bigger challenge than the India job – for someone like him it is probably the dream job." I hazard a guess that as an opponent Strauss will have a better relationship with Fletcher in this series than, say, Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes.
Strauss thinks – and hopes – that home advantage should count for a lot in this series. But he is not so naive as to demand green tops. "We just want good Test match wickets, which means something in it for everyone. The Rose Bowl was an excellent wicket and we want that sort of carry and bounce if possible."
England crave bouncy pitches for their tall bowlers. That is how they think they can exploit their home advantage. But which bowlers? When the squad is announced this morning we expect to find Stuart Broad still there, along with Tim Bresnan. One of these will join Jimmy Anderson and Chris Tremlett in the final eleven. Despite his drought, Broad is more likely to play than Bresnan. But Strauss at least acknowledged that Broad has been going through a tough time recently.
"He is clearly frustrated that he has not taken more wickets. That is the same for everyone. If you are not performing up to the standards you are used to, it hurts. I don't think he is doing a lot wrong. The key thing is to be patient and persevere and not try and change his method too much. Stick to what he knows, keep banging out a length consistently and, as we have seen from most of our bowlers when they have done that over the last couple of years, it has generally worked," Strauss says, sticking to the Ashes formula.
Earlier in the summer it was suggested – not least by the side's bowling coach, David Saker – that Broad was the side's enforcer, the one to pepper opponents with the short stuff. "That is not his role in the side and it has never has been," Strauss clarifies. "Occasionally the situation dictates that you want to go short on a particular batsman, I think he is our best bowler at doing that. But Broad's role is not fundamentally different from Anderson or Tremlett, which is to build up pressure. He has got so many outstanding attributes: he bowls at good pace, gets good bounce and if he is banging out a length consistently he is going to be effective."
All of which suggests that Broad still has the confidence of his Test captain, even though he was dropped for the last ODI against Sri Lanka.
Probable squad: Strauss, Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swann, Tremlett, Anderson, Bresnan.
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