ODI preview / Ed Hawkins / 11 November 2008 / Leave a comment

England may not have to cope with Kumble, Ganguly or Tendulkar but they will have to cope with excessive travelling, humidity and population. But what are KP and Flintoff's chances of getting something out of this Series, wonders Ed Hawkins.

When the ECB reacted to the gruelling seven-game one-day itinerary organised by their India counterparts and a couple of Test matches tagged on, they were being diplomatic by suggesting that their supporters would feel let down by not seeing some of the more famous cricket venues in a charming country.

In fact, they were furious that England's cricketers will have to dart around seven different outposts, starting with Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot for game one on Friday, and then try to find some energy for an important Test series.
Not surprisingly, bettors do not expect England to get much from the one-day international leg. The home side are as short as [1.52] with England [3.00] and the drawn series - there has to be rain - at [13.50].

England are at least getting some practice in. As a warm-up for their punishing schedule, they flew directly from Antigua to London, had an eight-hour stop which included switching airports and then two days later were playing against a Mumbai XI.

Of course, hardship is part and parcel of touring India. If the heat does not break you, the pollution or poverty will. Political violence is never far away, either. Recent trouble in Guwahati could result in the penultimate rubber being switched to a ground which would meet the ECB's requirements - the inspiring Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

Despite the concerns that England's players could be knackered for potentially deciding games at the end of the series, the statistics suggest that they may not be too jaded.

It is a major surprise that India have a poor record in seven-match one-day series on home soil. Perhaps they get worn down by the travelling, too. From their four most recent series of that length, they have won only once, against Sri Lanka in 2005. Defeats came against West Indies in 1987 (distant past so let's not get overexcited), West Indies again in 2002 and Australia in 2007.

Indeed, even England have not succumbed on lengthy tours as easily as one would have thought. Okay, they were hammered 5-1 in 2006 but interestingly that was blamed on the fact that the series followed an arduous Test series. But consecutive 3-3 scorelines in 2002, when famously Andrew Flintoff bared his belly when levelling matters in the final game, and 1993 bode well. Do bear in mind, however, that England have won only once in India by a 2-1 margin way back in 1981. And just to confuse, India have won five from their last 10 home series.

The Stanford Super Farce aside, England's form in the shorter versions of the game is good. The feelgood factor from a 4-0 victory over South Africa remains while punters who previously feathered their nests on the back of England's historic poor performances in 50-over cricket, will be wary of relying on India to do some rebuilding work.

They have their own nest to look after. Don't forget there is no Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar (for the first three matches) or Sourav Ganguly and fresh-faced players to the international scene like Pragyan Ojha, a slow left armer who impressed with Deccan in the IPL, opening batsman Murali Vijay and lower middle-order batsman Virat Kohli will not unduly worry Kevin Pietersen.

What will concern him is teaching the rest of his batsmen how to nudge and nurdle the spinners into gaps. England looked like they had the knack during a 3-2 win in Sri Lanka but have since gone backwards, notably against New Zealand's Daniel Vettori.

Iron wrists are required and Pietersen, who top scored with 291 runs in India last time, will be the rightful favourite for top-bat honours when prices become available. But do not discount Owais Shah, who should bat at the prosperous No. 3 position and Paul Collingwood, second to KP with 229 runs in 2006.

Still, if they bat like they did in this game

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/current/story/377833.html on Tuesday, then it will be all over bar the travelling.