What next for England following the Test series defeat to India?
England have just a few days to lift themselves from a heavy 3-1 defeat in the Test series of India, with the white-ball leg of the tour starting later this week.
Here the PA news agency sets the table for the next stage of the trip.
What now for the England Test squad?
Only two of those who played the fourth Test will stay on as part of the T20 squad, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer are also around having played reduced roles on the red-ball series but the majority of the Test contingent are heading home on Tuesday for a break, before attention turns to the County Championship in April.
Will I still need an early alarm call for the rest of the games?
Hit the snooze button and put away the ultra-strong coffee, because the 4am starts are gone. The five T20 matches are evening only affairs in India, with play beginning at 1.30pm GMT. The three ODIs to follow also have a gentler start time.
Will India continue to leave England in a spin
A number of factors mean the tourists should be better equipped to compete in the sprint form. Firstly, they are the world’s number one side (as opposed to their fourth ranking in Tests). Secondly, Eoin Morgan has been granted a full-strength side, rather than taking his share of the rest and rotation that hindered Joe Root. Finally, they get to see the back of India’s man of the series with Ravichandran Ashwin having not played T20s in almost four years. Axar Patel is still waiting to pounce though.
Who are England’s ones to watch?
Dawid Malan has been on a staggering run of form that sees him occupy top spot in the format’s batting rankings. Having just won his first IPL deal with Punjab Kings, he will be eager to show off his abilities. England’s bowling attack is likely to rely heavily on Adil Rashid, with the leg-spinner sure to carry a big slice of the wicket-taking burden through the middle overs.
Are the coaching staff resting and rotating?
Head coach Chris Silverwood will see things all the way through to the end of limited-overs matches, meaning he will have spent three months unbroken on the road, having left for Sri Lanka at the start of January. His assistant Graham Thorpe and wicketkeeping coach Chris Read are departing, with James Foster taking over from the latter and fielding specialist Carl Hopkinson joining.
Where can I tune in?
After Test cricket’s return to free-to-air terrestrial TV on Channel 4, the next run of games will return to Sky Sports. While that does mean the sport is back behind a paywall, it also means an end to the corporate, partisan commentary that came as part of the host broadcaster stream. The voices of Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain have been missed. On radio, talkSPORT continue to offer exclusive ball-by-ball commentary.
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