Trescothick doubtful for
opening one-dayer

England opener Marcus Trescothick may miss the opening one-day international against India on Saturday after suffering a bout of influenza.

"Trescothick is under the weather a little bit. He would be doubtful for tomorrow's game," England captain Nasser Hussain told reporters on Friday.

Hussain said he would include only two of his three frontline pace bowlers -- Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and Matthew Hoggard -- for the first of six one-day internationals.

Hoggard bowled impressively in the 1-0 Test series loss to India last year after Gough and Caddick had opted out of the tour.

"I will be surprised if all three pacemen play," he said. "We'll just pick the best two for the match tomorrow after seeing the pitch and match conditions."

Hussain said India are a dangerous side with Sachin Tendulkar, captain Sourav Ganguly and the explosive Virender Sehwag in the team. But he felt confident England could put them under pressure.

"They have some very talented players and that is always a danger. But the key to keep talent down is pressure," he said.

"Pressure plays funny things with the mind. If we can put pressure on the opposition, we will do well."

England defeated an under-strength Zimbabwe side 5-0 last year after losing 11 one-day matches in a row and Hussain is anxious to make further advances before next year's World Cup in South Africa.

EDEN GARDENS

"It's very important to get a couple of wins in the first few games," Hussain said. "We won 5-0 in Zimbabwe and that did a lot for the side. It is important that we keep that going."

"Our one-day record, on the whole, is not brilliant. India in India is different from playing India in South Africa or anywhere else in the world. And India at the Eden Gardens is again completely different."

The Eden Gardens stadium, where the first match will be played, has a capacity of over 100,000 but Hussain said the huge crowds would not unsettle his team.

"Our players are looking forward to playing here. We will learn from the experience of big games like tomorrow. I'd rather play before 80,000 people than before a man and a dog," he said.

"The actual surface looks a good wicket, the sort of surface you'd like in one-day matches."

Left-handers Hemang Badani and Dinesh Mongia have been recalled to the India one-day squad following encouraging performances in domestic cricket. Off-spinner Sharandeep Singh, wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra and all-rounder Sanjay Bangar are the newcomers.

India captain Sourav Ganguly said his side is very inexperienced and added he would miss injured batsman Rahul Dravid.

"Rahul will be missed," he said. "He has scored a lot of runs for India. He cannot be replaced right away. But we will have to get on with

"It's a good opportunity for them to get ready for the one-dayers ahead and the World Cup. They are the most talented guys in India and obviously this is a big opportunity for them."

India's New Zealand coach John Wright said he is optimistic about his team's chances.

"We are looking at improving at our fielding and running between wickets," Wright said.

"They are not problems, they are opportunities. This team has the ability to be an outstanding fielding side."

Teams (from):
India - Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Hemang Badani, Dinesh Mongia, Anil Kumble, Ajay Ratra (wicketkeeper), Harbhajan Singh, Sharandeep Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Sanjay Bangar.

England - Nasser Hussain (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Graham Thorpe, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, James Foster (wicketkeeper), Ashley Giles, Ben Hollioake, Andy Caddick, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard, Nick Knight, Andrew Flintoff, Jeremy Snape.

Mail Cricket Editor