Mind fodder: Five things to think about as England take on India in a big ol’ five-Test series

3 minute read

England v India. Five Tests. Man alive, there’s scope for some stuff here. We’re only stopping at five with this article because if we send the email any later, you’ll all end up paying attention to THE WRONG THINGS and we’d never forgive ourself.

Rishabh Pant v Shoaib Bashir

In truth, this is more Every India Batter v Shoaib Bashir. We’ve singled out Pant though because… you know… Rishabh Pant. If he doesn’t have a go in the first Test, history suggests he’ll have warmed up sufficiently by the fifth.

A young spinner who can’t even get a game in county cricket wouldn’t ordinarily be enraptured by the prospect of bowling to Pant et al, but who honestly knows what’s going on with Shoaib Bashir’s career? This might play into his giant hands. Perhaps he’ll emerge as England’s cow-cornered tiger.

Ben Stokes’ bowling

The body’s never been better he’ll maintain, right up to – and probably beyond – his next physical derailment.

> Succession: Who becomes England Test captain when Ben Stokes inevitably suffers his next major injury?

Ollie Pope’s hair

Where’s it heading? Is he going to go Full Lloyd?

Brydon Carse with the new ball

England’s appetite for bowlers who can perform well with the old ball means that they’ve managed to pick a side with only one clear new ball bowler for the first Test. After years of square-pegging at first-change, Chris Woakes now finally finds himself opening and yet he’ll do so with a round peg partner in the form of Brydon Carse, who’s barely ever done the job.

This is slightly bizarre in that the ‘new ball in English conditions’ queue is pretty much always the England team’s longest. It does however tally with Ben Stokes’ previous comments about favouring versatile bowlers who can implement all sorts of different strategies. Speaking after Josh Tongue’s debut in 2023, he complimented him on this quality, saying it was a way for him to get “different types of spells out of one bowler.”

Jasprit Bumrah just generally

Speaking of adaptable bowlers, real, out-and-out, class-above quicks don’t come around too often. And even when they do come around, they quite often only plan on playing three out of five Tests due to workload management.

The reigning Lord Megachief of Gold is in the country and provided his back doesn’t give in, you can count on him doing incredible things. Not many players have ever carried such a guarantee. Enjoy it while you can.