Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 20 July 2011 /

India haven't had enough of a chance to get used to English conditions and go into this First Test a little under-cooked. This should allow Jonathan Trott in particular to prosper and give England a great chance to go 1-0 up, says Michael Vaughan.

I've spoken already about how I think India will be a little under-cooked coming into the First Test after having played just the one three-day warm-up match.

I'll make no apologies for constantly talking about playing in 'English conditions' throughout this series but we simply can't under-estimate how different they are to conditions found anywhere else in the world. If Test cricket is almost a different game to One-Day Internationals for example, so is playing in conditions that are alien to certain teams. Especially when that team is India. Back home they're used to playing on some of the flattest wickets in the world where the ball simply doesn't misbehave and provided you're in good nick and don't do anything stupid, you can score big and score quickly.

Not so over here. Take the fourth ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge for example. England bowled on a green wicket where the ball swung, dipped, seamed and did plenty of other interesting things. Before Sri Lanka knew it , they were 20-4 and absolutely clueless as to what to do. And that was a top-order that included such names as Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan. Hardly inexperienced players and certainly guys who have played over here before.

India's batsmen will take time to get used to playing over here and that may well allow England to draw first blood. Lord's has a reputation as a fantastic batting track but if it's overcast and there's rain in the air, batting will be tough the same as it would on any other English track. If there's any hint of swing in the air I'm sure both captains will elect to have a bowl first. If that's India and Zaheer Khan finds his line and length early on, England could be two or three down by lunch-time. But that's not a given and if it's England who have the new ball in their hands in bowler-friendly conditions, India could be more than three down at the break and already hoping for rain to help them salvage a draw.

How will England line up then to give them the best possible chance of going 1-0 up? At the moment it's a straight choice between Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan for that all-rounder's spot at number eight. A case could be made for either but I think the decision will be made on the day after the skipper and coach have assessed the wicket. Broad is probably favourite because he's been part of the set-up for longer but we saw that England had no problem dropping him for the final ODI against Sri Lanka in favour of Samit Patel, so he's certainly not deemed 'untouchable'.

I've already said I fancy Ian Bell to be top England batsman over the course of the series but Jonathan Trott is the call for Lord's. He loves batting there and is just one of those players who can go a couple of weeks without playing a competitive game and then just come in and play like he scored a century the day before.

As for India, it's not the most imaginative wager in the world but I can't look beyond Sachin Tendulkar. There will be nerves amongst even the more experienced batsmen in India's ranks because it's the First Test, because it's at Lord's and because they're the top ranked team in the world. But this man has seen it all before and will relish the challenge. Back the "Little Master" to master England's bowling attack.

Recommended Bets:

2 pts Back England to win at [3.45]
3 pts Back Jonathan Trott to be England first innings top batsman at [5.1]
2 pts Back Sachin Tendulkar to be India first innings top batsman at [4.2]

For an explanation of the betting points system click here.

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