The
summer of cricket just rolls on. It is India's tour of England
which begins with the first of three test matches this Thursday.
Both the teams have star performers in their ranks and the
tour will be a test of skill for many of them.
Here's
a look at a few of the England players who can make a lasting
impression with their performances in the test series:
| Kevin Pietersen |
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| England’s style icon KP
(as he is popularly known) has looked pedestrian recently.
He has complained of too much cricket taking a toll on
him and has, therefore, taken a short break. Back from
the break, he can give India headaches with his unusual
and intrepid style of batting. Even though he likes to
take on the spinners, it will be interesting to see how
he tackles the fast leg breaks from Anil Kumble. |
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| Paul Collingwood |
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| The new one-day skipper will
be attempting to brush aside the disappointment of the
series loss to West Indies. With no captaincy burden on
his shoulders, he is expected to lead England’s
middle-order from the front. If recent form is anything
to go by, India have to be wary of him as his performance
over the last twelve months speaks for itself. |
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| Matthew Hoggard |
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| With Steve Harmison ruled out
of the entire series, Matthew Hoggard, like India’s
Zaheer Khan, will lead an otherwise-inexperienced pace
attack. His ability to swing the ball both ways could
have the Indian batsmen in a fix. Reverse swing is another
art that he has learnt over the years and should be useful
with the old ball. A good series for him has usually meant
resulted in England’s triumph and that is what England
expect of him. |
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| Monty Panesar |
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| In Harbhajan Singh’s absence,
Monty Panesar will be representing the Sikh community
in this series, although the latter will play for a different
team. Since his impressive debut against India last year
where he got the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul
Dravid, the excitable Panesar has an inspiring record
with 65 wickets in 17 tests. He will be a key to England’s
success in the series against a formidable Indian line-up
fond of facing spin bowling. |
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| Alastair Cook |
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| In the absence of Marcus Trescothick,
Alastair Cook has smoothly cemented his place in the side.
With a century on debut against India last year, the Essex
opener is a fluent stroke-maker and has already made 6
centuries in just 18 test matches. If he continues to
improve the way he has done so far, this series could
be a major breakthrough in his career. |
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