Depleted England braced for India backlash

England did not appear a good bet to win the first Test against India and, by the same criteria, look even less likely to win the second.

Missing their top two fast bowlers and their leading batsman at Lord's, the patched-up home team contrived to win that initial contest by a thumping 170 runs.

If India have not yet recovered from the disappointment, England have probably not got over their surprise either. Captain Nasser Hussain, a man with both feet always planted firmly on the ground, had to concede: "I think that's about as well as this side can play."

His opposite number Sourav Ganguly might have been tempted to suggest his team could not have played much worse.

A second English success at Trent Bridge in the four-match series, though, would be more impressive still.

Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick and Marcus Trescothick remain on the sidelines, waving sick notes. Graham Thorpe, the mainstay of the middle order, joins them after opting to take time out to sort out his personal life while pace bowler Simon Jones, so refreshing on his Lord's debut, is also crocked.

BROKEN RULES

Things have got so bad that the England selectors have broken their own rules in rushing back paceman Alex Tudor and his suspect shins into the squad for Nottingham, even though he has not proved his fitness in a first-class match.

Kent opener Robert Key, meanwhile, a powerful man once known more for his appetite at lunch rather than at the crease, will make his debut on Thursday, while pace bowler Steve Harmison, like Jones renowned for pace rather than direction, could also play his first game.

The new faces are undoubtedly exciting but cannot hide the fact that, as England chairman of selectors David Graveney pointed out: "Our resources have been stretched."

Ganguly will be more worried about his own problems than those of his opponents.

India toured West Indies earlier this year confident of recording their first Test series success outside the sub-continent since 1986 only to return home defeated.

England seemed to offer as good an opportunity, particularly on a friendly Lord's track playing so true.

Yet England, displaying real spirit under Hussain, won both the bowling and batting battles in the series opener.

Jones added real zest to a disciplined attack led by the fast-maturing Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, while Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble failed to match them.

Three Englishmen also scored centuries, the biggest by the captain.

UNLIKELY AGARKAR

Significantly, India's only three-figure man came in the unlikely shape of Ajit Agarkar, whose Test average before the game languished at just over seven runs a visit.

His performance -- he was included for his medium-pace bowling rather than his batting -- put his much-vaunted team mates to shame, particularly Sachin Tendulkar, who failed to reach 20 in either innings.

Ganguly was as disappointing, while Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Vangipurappu Laxman all got starts but failed to push on.

One of these, however, seems certain to deliver a backlash in Nottingham, Tendulkar serving up a big century in his final warm-up game against Worcestershire.

GANGULY DILEMMA

Ganguly's other dilemma may be how to assimilate Harbhajan Singh's off-spin.

Sadly missed at Lord's, Singh seems certain to play. Yet the only bowler who seriously underperformed in the first Test was Agarkar. It would take a brave set of selectors to ditch a man after his maiden century.

With Nottingham likely to favour swing and with the onset of damper weather, leg-spinner Anil Kumble could be left out.

One man England will not be ditching is Craig White.

The all-rounder, slowed by back problems and struggling for form, had all but accepted that his England career was over before he exploited a shock recall to the full at Lord's with four wickets and a half-century batting at eight.

At the weekend he added four wickets and 100 not out for Yorkshire against Surrey in the C&G Trophy semi-finals. All of England's rag-bag of players seem to be playing out of their skins at the moment, no one more than White.

Squads:

England:
Michael Vaughan, Robert Key, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain (captain), John Crawley, Alec Stewart, Andy Flintoff, Craig White, Dominic Cork, Alex Tudor, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison.

India: Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (captain), V.V.S. Laxman, Ajay Ratra, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Mongia, Tinu Yohannan.

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