After a long and unprecedented halt, the cogwheels of international cricket will today resume running when England play against the West Indies at Southampton. Amidst the pandemic, the sport will see major and conspicuous changes — stands will remain without the spectators, players will celebrate whilst maintaining social distancing, and using the saliva for ball shining would remain off the routine.
Immense pressure hovers over Test cricket anyway, but it will be very challenging for players to play cricket amid the pandemic. It would be interesting to see whether the players can give their hundred per cent. With utmost caution, both the teams will concentrate to play, winning would be the later priority.
West Indies, in their courtyard, defeated England in the last series, and it would be exciting to see whether England can avenge. Although there is nothing to lose for the English giants, it should not be that they take the Caribbean team lightly. Nevertheless, it was the last series that West Indies won at their home. The team lacks consistency in their players, but West Indies always have surprises in store for the viewers.
Englishmen, like the Australians and the Kiwis, taking the maximum advantages from the familiar conditions, are too tough to be beaten in their own home. Especially, when it comes to their fast bowling arsenal, England has several choices among six aggressive pacers including the star all-rounder Ben Stokes. However, the line-up might likely include James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, and the lone spinner Dom Bess.
While Anderson is extremely dangerous in English conditions, Jofra Archer has a tremendous fire at the moment. Chris Woakes’ accuracy and variety will also get England timely wickets. With a fiery bowling battery, England might utilise the opportune moment to play new young faces in the batting department, especially when the ace batsman Joe Root is not playing.
When I played in the Indian team, it was thought that what would befall the Indian cricket after the batsmen like Gavaskar and Vishwanath would leave. However, their egress enabled fresh faces to prove themselves, and surprisingly, those players managed to shoulder the batting responsibilities as efficacious as the Gavaskar-Vishwanath duo. Novel talent always enriches the team.
The writer is a former Indian cricketer and two-time Team India coach.
