


Graeme Swannwill be looking forward to bolwing on day five at Lord's
"England need to be aggressive with their declaration, get the tactics right and take their chances when they come their way because this is a great chance to go 1-0 up. My money is on them doing just that."
Michael Vaughan thinks England have a great chance of winning the First Test if they get their tactics right and take their chances...
As I predicted in my pre-match preview, India have looked a little rusty over these first three days.
The injury to Zaheer Khan was obviously a huge blow on day one and just downright unlucky. In fairness to Praveen Kumar, he did his very best to try and make up for the loss of India's star man with the ball and bowled exceptionally well. No-one likes to see the best players missing through injury but it's obviously done England's chances of winning this Test and the Series as a whole, no harm at all.
I'm guessing Andrew Strauss would probably have enforced the follow-on if given the chance but England will have to re-think their strategy now in terms of how to go about trying to win the match.
They need to go out and bat normally when they start the second innings. Strauss will see the second innings as a good chance to get some runs on the board himself. He actually played really well and looked pretty comfortable until falling to an ill-judged shot in the first innings and with his nemesis Zaheer Khan very unlikely to bowl on Sunday, he'll fancy his chances of getting a big score on a wicket that is expected to stay true. And we fancy that as well so at a rather appealing [5.0], he's our chosen selection for second innings top batsman. A price that appeals even more because England are likely to declare at some stage which favours an opener's chances of top scoring.
Can England still win this Test? Very much so because with the possible exception of James Anderson, who looks a bit out-of-sorts, their other bowlers have been bowling really well on a pitch that hasn't offered too much assistance. The decision to play Stuart Broad rather than Tim Bresnan appears to have been vindicated and he'll be a threat in the second innings again, I'm sure.
The Lord's wicket very rarely deteriorates a lot but it's not played quite as well as it has in other Tests I've seen over the years. There may be something there for the fast bowlers and on day five there may even be some assistance for Graeme Swann. England need to be aggressive with their declaration, get the tactics right and take their chances when they come their way because this is a great chance to go 1-0 up. My money is on them doing just that.
Recommended Bets:
1pt Back Andrew Strauss to be England second innings top batsman @ [4.5]
2pts Back England to win @ [2.7]
Never underestimate the importance of playing at home in tough conditions, which gives England the edge before a ball has been bowled in anger. Read on to also find out who are the men to be on for top bat...
India haven't had enough of a chance to get used to English conditions and go into this First Test a little under-cooked. This should allow Jonathan Trott in particular to prosper and give England a great chance to go 1-0...
Ed Hawkins casts his eye over the players' market as the start of the four-Test series approaches...
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