England v India - live! | Andy Bull
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But that can all wait. "One of the most tiresome aspects of any Indian Summer is the ongoing inability to get a simple name right," grumbles John Dalby. "Each time we play India, a new variation on the name, Sreesanth, seems to pop up in spite of the man himself seeking, a number of times I am sure, to settle the matter once and for all. I vaguely recall an interview with an increasingly exasperated Michael Atherton unable to comprehend that his name was simply Sreesanth. I note that you have yet to refer to one of the incorrect variations, so good on you, although I suspect that may be more luck (or laziness) than judgement." There is truth in that. The man has at least five variations on his name (Sree Sreesanth, S Sreesanth, Shiv Sreesanth, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and the simple Sree Santh). He's yet to insist on being known by a symbol. But I'm guessing it's not long. His band, by the way, has the modest moniker of S36, after his initial and squad number. You do me a disservice though John. I once asked him to spell out his name for me, and he confirmed that he likes to be known simply as Sreesanth.
So India are going to have to tinker with their batting line-up. Rahul Dravid will open. He is being forced, once again, to take one for the team. He has scored two centuries on pancake flat pitches in Pakistan as an opener, but his record in that position is still distinctly modest. Laxman will move up to No3.
An early word from the ground from Lord Mike Selvey: "Strauss was trying to hide his disappointment at the toss. This does not look like a five day pitch and England would have been very, very keen to bowl first." Sir Iron Bottom on the other hand reckons that it's not a bad toss to lose. Which means England are stuffed.
India's team has just got so much more entertaining. Let's see that again.
Since 2005 Trent Bridge has been one of the least forgiving grounds in the world for batsmen. Only Sabina Park has a lower runs-per-wicket average. Historically, England's record has been quite mediocre here, but they've got better, winning five of their last seven Tests here. The two exceptions? Sri Lanka in 2006 and India in 2007 - and look who won the toss and fielded first on that occasion.
"We probably would have had a bowl as well" says Strauss, "but I don't think there are any massive demons in the pitch." He confirms that Tim Bresnan will replace Chris Tremlett.
Sky are running late, so we're going straight to the toss: India have won it and chosen to bowl first. MS Dhoni confirms that they have made two changes, with Yuvraj coming in for Gambhir and - hurrah! - Sreesanth in for Zaheer.
I was hoping we'd get to see Sree and Swann, who is, of course, the lead singer of Dr Comfort and the Lurid Revelations, have some kind of rock strop show-down in the middle, bu! t it see ms we're going to be denied the satisfaction.
The feeling is that India are going to bring in the lumbering quick Munaf Patel to replace Zaheer, which is going to do nothing to improve their ground fielding. Personally I'd rather see them pick the ludicrously flamboyant Sreesanth, and not just because he is one of the few cricketers who plays in a sweat band these days. Sree is arock and roll cricketer. No really, he is. See.
Good morning everyone, the bell has been rung, the seconds are out, ready for round two? This promises to be another enthralling Test match. The first thing we have to find out is whether India have pulled a rope-a-dope at Lord's. I'm one of those who thinks that there's no way they will play that badly again. In three of their series in the last 18 months (South Africa at home and away, Sri Lanka away) they've been routed in the first Test only to come back and win or draw the second. Very few teams in history have been better at coming from behind. But how much has that beating taken out of them? They've already lost Zaheer Khan, arguably the single most influential player on either side, and the rumours are that Gautam Gambhir might be out too. We'll have to wait and see whether that's true, but if it is, it would be another big loss. The battle has taken a toll on England too. Chris Tremlett is almost certainly going to miss this match.
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