England are in good form- but a trip to India is cricket’s toughest challenge
Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have credit in the cricketing bank- but away to India is the toughest of tests
England’s men’s side is gearing up for a test tour of India which is the new regime’s biggest challenge to date. Without a series win in India in 11 years, momentum is on England’s side, and with an intriguing squad choice, it feels like the right time to face this opposition- from an English perspective at least.
In reality, England are heading to a nation that does not lose test matches on home soil. In their last 44 home tests, India have won 36 and lost just two. One of these was against England in 2021- a series the hosts went on to dominate in a 3–1 win.
During this time, few teams have been able to lay a finger on them. Going to India and competing in conditions that historically favour spin bowling has been a challenge so few touring teams have been able to rise to. England look keen to avoid going into the series underprepared, with five spin bowlers having seats on the plane. Two of these being uncapped may be telling, but it is rewarding to see the hierarchy know a certain plan is needed to carve out any chance of success.
It feels like a lifetime since England Men last played red-ball cricket. Since the end of the dramatic 2–2 Ashes series, the white ball team has gone to a world cup in India and fallen apart. It was a tournament that highlighted some glaring issues in the 50-over side, one of them perhaps that not enough of the players had enough 50-over games in the lead-up to a 50-over World Cup. Seems pretty logical, right? To those at the top of the English game, not so much.
The return of test cricket gives England’s ‘Bazball’ the chance to push on with the progress that the white ball setup failed to achieve in 2023. The news that Harry Brook might not play any part of the series is a blow for England on the eve of the first test, but it does (hopefully) mean logic and reason can prevail and Ben Foakes slots into the side.
On paper, England’s top seven even without Brook looks strong. The spinning wickets of India will test the batters, with Joe Root set to be the main man in the sub-continent once again after recent good visits. Hope for England’s chances can be taken from the excellent 3–0 win in Pakistan in winter 2022, where Rehan Ahmed burst onto the scene with a spin bowling option England have been crying out for.
Another bonus for the first two Tests at least is news that India’s talisman Virat Kohli will not be playing due to personal reasons. It feels almost like a chance that England might need to take because Kohli can still do plenty of damage in three matches in his backyard.
The series is set to be a classic, and with two sides keen to press on in their quest to become the best in the world, the five-match contest will go a long way to assessing where the two nations currently are in the red ball format.
