Graeme Swann’s back for First Test but pace duo still recovering

“We’ll monitor them over the next two days,” he said. “It’s fantastic to see where Steven is. We didn’t think he’d be at this stage so soon.

“That’s great and Stuart is coming along exactly as we thought he would. Over the next two days, we’ll know a little bit more. But we’re happy with where they are at the moment.”

Broad said: “It felt fine. I’ll need two more bowls before the Test — tomorrow will be the main one. It feels okay but maybe it was the adrenaline. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

The relief over Swann is palpable because England need him for more than his bowling. Monty Panesar, the reserve spinner, might have been an adequate replacement in that department but he lacks other skills.

Swann is not only a senior player but will also be the tourists’ main slip fielder in this series, an area where England have been fallible lately.

The tourists have dropped too many catches in recent Tests but Halsall, a fielding specialist, said he was pleased with their work in India so far, although they shelled four chances against Haryana in their last warm-up match, which ended in a draw yesterday.

Halsall added: “We’ve seen some exceptional catches. Jonathan Trott has been fantastic, Alastair Cook has moved in there to first slip and taken some good catches, and Graeme in the India A game. We’re very happy with the catching.”

England did not train today and with the hard preparation behind them, the squad will go through individual routines tomorrow and Wednesday.

“Most of them are experienced enough to know what they need over the next two days to make sure they’re ready for Thursday,” said Halsall.

That does not apply, of course, to Nick Compton, who will make his Test debut after making three consecutive half-centuries.

First Test: Thurs-Mon (Ahmedabad)

Second Test: Nov 23-27 (Mumbai)

Third Test: Dec 5-9 (Kolkata)

Fourth Test: Dec 13-17 (Nagpur)