England V India T20I At Manchester: Stuart Broad Leads Out Young English Team

At the end of the Test series against India, English Test match captain Andrew Strauss had exhorted the newly crowned number one to go through the entire summer unbeaten. The first game of the rest of the season begins with England taking on India in the one-off T20I at Manchester and the new English captain (for the T20Is), Stuart Broad would love to continue with England’s winning streak.

Broad will have a rather young-looking side at his disposal, with the potential for three debuts in the game. Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales have all been rewarded for their first class performances, with a chance to make it to the playing eleven.

Of course, that looks highly unlikely unless England suffer from some 11^th hour injuries to the main guys. But, at least two of them look good for a debut; Hales could replace Michael Lumb as Craig Kieswetter’s opening partner although Ravi Bopara is another option that England has, while Buttler could be accorded a chance in the middle-order after his see-ball-hit-ball performances in the recently concluded Friends Life T20 tournament.

Beyond the opening pair, England will have the stability of Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen and Bopara in the middle, with Buttler floating in and around the 10-12 over mark in the innings.

Broad and Graeme Swann will lead the attack, with Indian nemesis from the Tests, Tim Bresnan and Jade Dernbach almost certain to make it to the playing eleven. Where things will get interesting is around the discussion for that number seven position – will Samit Patel be given a go or will the English prefer to bombard the Indians with more pace in the form of Steven Finn?

The two sides, India and England have played twice, with the second of these games in 2009 resulting in an English win thanks to their pace bowlers bombarding the hapless Indian batsmen with the short bowling. An exciting game, a prelude to the ODI series lies ahead tomorrow.