Umpires will receive no help from technology commonly used
in other international cricket matches, mainly because India rejects key parts
that can help umpires to give leg before wicket decisions.
The umpires, New Zealander Billy Bowden and Pakistan's Asaf
Rauf, will be feeling the pressure even more after Australian umpire Daryl
Harper quit cricket early, accusing Indian cricketers of adopting
"bullying" tactics on the field during the recent series against West
Indies.
England will be confident after a convincing series victory
over Sri Lanka, and the home team could once again be helped by cool, overcast
conditions that assist seamers like James Anderson and Chris Tremlett.
Pugnacious fast bowler Stuart Broad is likely to get the nod
from coach Andy Flower over Tim Bresnan. Flower denied Broad was being used as
an "enforcer" to unsettle batsmen. "His job is to create
pressure and to take wickets and to do that you generally bowl at off
stump," Flower told the Guardian newspaper.
India, the world No. 1 Test team and one-day world
champions, have the most feared batting lineup, but will be without explosive
opener Virender Sehwag for at the least the first two Tests because of a
shoulder injury.
"We've heard that he'll be over here maybe the third
and fourth Test, so we're crossing our fingers for that," said India coach
Duncan Fletcher, a former England coach.
Fletcher is keenly aware that his batting lineup, which
includes Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, is
comfortable with English weather conditions and should not be overly troubled.
"They're in a good space at the moment and they can
carry on," he said. "Over here it could be different because the
outfield should be miles faster than in the West Indies." India's batting
still revolves around Tendulkar, the little master who at the age of 38 will be
looking for his 100th international century at Lord's. With 14,692 Test runs
and 18,111 one-day runs, Tendulkar could be central to India's efforts to prevent
England taking over the top spot of Test teams.
The Indians have had only one warm-up game in England, but
were given a stiff working-over during the three-Test series in the Caribbean,
which they won 1-0 without impressing. A three-day game against Somerset
allowed England captain Andrew Strauss to bat himself back into form with an
unbeaten century against a weakened India bowling attack.
India's weakness, if it has one, is its bowling, although
Zaheer Khan is a veteran seamer and Harbhajan Singh is still one of the world's
best spinners.
England's batsmen, especially openers Strauss and Alastair
Cook, are in strong form, as is South African-born Jonathan Trott, who has
succeeded in reaching a Test average of 62 while infuriating opposing fielders
with his labored preparations for each delivery.
Kevin Pietersen is yet to recover the form that made him the
best batsman in the world a few years ago, but remains a potent force and a
potential match-winner.
