India vs England Test series in India means a series dominated by spinners. It is no surprise that Indian pitches are helpful for spin bowlers. Therefore teams coming to India have been focusing on strengthening the spin department. However, if we look at the England team for the tour of India, the situation seems to be exactly the opposite. The focus of the visiting team is not on spinners but on fast bowlers.
England has relied on their traditional strength, fast and swing bowling instead of selecting players according to the conditions. With this strategy, South Africa defeated India on the same ground in 2000 and Australia in 2004/05. The 4-match Test series will begin on February 5 between India and England.
Top 2 active fast bowlers of the time in England team
The England team selected for the tour of India will have the responsibility of fast bowling on the shoulders of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Joffra Archer and Ben Stokes. Together, these four have taken more than 1300 wickets in Test cricket. Anderson and Broad are currently in the top-2 position in terms of wicket-taking among active bowlers worldwide.
In comparison, England’s two leading spinners Moeen Ali (181 wickets) and Jack Leach (40 wickets) have a total of 221 wickets. Anderson and Broad are in the top-10 of the ICC rankings for Test bowlers. Broad is second and Anderson in 7th.
England is the last team to defeat India in their home series
England defeated India in 2012 at their home. However, the England team then won the series 2–1 on spin. At that time the English team had spinners like Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann. Swann took 20 wickets in 4 Tests and Panesar took 17 wickets in 3 Tests.
Also, there were good batsmen in the English team who played spin like Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott. Cook scored 562 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 80.29 and was the highest run-scorer in the series. At the same time, Pietersen scored 338 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 48.29 and Trott scored 294 runs at an average of 42 in the same Tests.
SG ball and reverse swing helps alot
It is true that Indian pitches are helpful for the spinners, but there are some factors which have been used by the fast bowlers to achieve success here. The most important of these is SG Ball. Test matches in India have been held by SG Ball. The seam of this ball is more bulging than the Kukabura ball.
So it can get a good swing for the first 8-10 overs. It also gets ready for reverse swing very soon. The fast bowlers of the 2000 South African team and the Australian team of 2004–05 had achieved success on both these fronts.
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