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CRICKET PREVIEW - FOCUS ON INDIA

India arrive for a full tour of England for the first time since 2002. They will play three Tests and seven one-day internationals in a schedule which will suit the tourists more than the hosts. India have won 8.9 percent of their Test matches in England and 42.1 percent of ODIs.

Rahul Dravid's men will be encouraged by the timing of their tour. Visitors to England early in the summer are so often undone by unfamiliar swinging conditions - as the under-prepared West Indies were this summer - so with the Test series kicking-off on July 19, India might expect to encounter less alien conditions.

Even if the recent poor weather continues, the tourists have more experience of English conditions than most. Stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Dravid have played 22 Tests between them in England, and each averages in excess of 70.

They certainly prospered last time around in a high-scoring series which began at Lord's on 25 July 2002. Although England won at headquarters by a convincing margin of 170 runs, India bounced back at Leeds to secure a 1-1 draw in the four match series.

The average first innings score in that series was 497, so we might expect some bat-dominated encounters this time around, especially as the bowling appears to be the weaker suit of both sides. Dravid and Michael Vaughan both hit more than 600 runs in 2002 and will face each other as captains on this occasion.

India's win at Headingley was just their fourth ever in England and they go into this series having lost 23 and drawn 18 of their previous 45 encounters. Most of those draws have come recently - 60 percent of Tests between the two in England since 1979 have ended all square.

India have never travelled well but have improved recently, winning 10, losing seven and drawing eight of their away Tests since their last tour of England. They hammered Bangladesh by an innings and 239 runs in their last away Test, but subsided to a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in their last major encounter, despite winning the first match of the series at Johannesburg.

If the Indian batting is in good order - the top four all scored tons in the win at Dhaka - the bowling unit is inexperienced. Aside from previous tourists and recent County players Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan, there is a lack of exposure to English conditions and Test cricket in general: Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose, RP Singh and Sri Sreesanth have played only 13 Tests between them.

With Monty Panesar England's top wicket taker against West Indies, Kumble will be expected to be as threatening for the tourists. He has never relished English conditions, taking 22 wickets in seven matches at an average of 45.81.

Khan was similarly unproductive in 2002, taking 11 wickets at an average of 43.9. However, he has since enjoyed a fruitful time with Worcestershire, and his 78 scalps at 29.07 last season were the most taken by any bowler in the Second Division. He has also been in fine Test form recently, taking 31 wickets in his last seven matches, all away from home.
India play a four-day game against Sussex and a three-day game against the England Lions ahead of the Test series, although they have had some familiarisation of conditions on their one-day tour of Ireland.

They cruised past the hosts by nine wickets and edged a three-match series against South Africa in a contest which went some way to revive the flagging reputation of the 50-over format. All three matches were won by the chasing team in the final over.

The series was notable for Tendulkar going past 15,000 runs in ODIs and the 'Little Master' seems to have rediscovered some of his best form. A run of injuries and poor form - including against England early last year, when he recorded a highest Test score of 34 - prompted some to suggest it was time for him to retire.

He hit two half-centuries on the difficult tour to South Africa and flayed Bangladesh for two tons in the recent two match series. Should England's bowlers misfire as they did so often against West Indies, Tendulkar is sure to take advantage - he averages 71.6 in Tests in England and has hit four tons in 16 innings.

England are 2.04 favourites to win the Test series, with India available at 3.55 and 3.9 the draw. England have not lost a home series since 2001 and the last two series between the two, in 2002 and 2006, ended 1-1. India are ranked fourth in the world rankings, seven points behind second-placed England.

Although England are on the road to recovery in Tests, their ODI form remains unconvincing. A heavy defeat by West Indies on Wednesday left them with the prospect of facing another ODI series defeat, but in India they will be playing a team under even more pressure to improve their performances.

Dravid's outfit managed to produce an even worse World Cup campaign than England, crashing out in the first round after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They have since won five of their six ODIs, although three of those wins came against Bangladesh and Ireland.

India famously won the 2002 NatWest series after chasing down a target of 325 in the decider at Lord's, although they lost 2-1 on their last one-day visit in 2004. Their overall record in England reads eight wins and 11 defeats, with two matches bringing no result.

England's ODI matches this summer can be viewed as a contest between the three weakest major nations. Seventh ranked England seem evenly matched with eighth placed West Indies, whilst India are just four points ahead of the hosts in sixth.
There are no Twenty20 matches, despite the format's World Cup beginning soon after India depart in early September.

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