England ready for anything as Broad is hurt again

getty

11 December 2012

Comparisons between Nagpur in central India and Sydney on Australia’s east coast are difficult to advance with any conviction.

But England are having no trouble. They remember only too well their position in the Ashes series two years ago as they prepare for the must-not-lose match starting here on Thursday.

Two years ago, they went into the Fifth Test in Sydney 2-1 up and assured of retaining the great prize. The series, however, was still alive and they are similarly placed against India, so near yet so far in terms of what they came for.

Graeme Swann, the off-spinner who can expect to play a prominent part in proceedings at the Vidarbha CA ground, said today: “We didn’t get carried away before that Sydney game. We spoke of how important it was to keep our feet on the ground.

“That’s all we’re doing here. People saying there is something special happening and things like that are very easy distractions to get caught up in. We’ll make sure we don’t do that.”

Easier said than done. But in Sydney they recorded their most emphatic victory of the series to win 3-1. It would be doubly disappointing now to have victory snatched from their grasp after coming back from a nine-wicket defeat in the First Test.

Swann said: “After losing that game in Ahmedabad, and with our previous results in India, it’s very easy to get in that rut of losing games, travelling round, losing another one and you can’t wait to get home rather than focus on winning the next game.

“There was a lot of energy put in to making sure this tour wasn’t going to be like that. It was made very clear that Mumbai was a chance to level the series and anybody who didn’t see it that way wasn’t welcome in the dressing room.”

England not ony squared the series but then went one better by winning in Kolkata at the weekend.

They arrived for practice today to be greeted by a Test pitch that did not look as venomous as was being predicted. But in two days a lot can happen to surfaces.

“It is not a strange thing for India to want a wicket to suit their team,” Swann said. “Certainly we do in England when we play. The fact that we have won the last two games is testament to how well we have played.”

Whatever is prepared England will pick an unchanged team. Any thoughts of vice-captain Stuart Broad earning a recall were quashed when the pace bowler was sent for a scan after suffering a recurrence of his left heel injury during nets. The worry now is that Broad will also miss the two T20 games and that will mean having to name a new captain.

MORE ABOUT

Stuart Broad

England ready for anything as Broad is hurt again

Read More