1st Test: with no DRS, pressure on umpires

1st Test: with no DRS, pressure on umpires

London: Some of the world's finest cricketers will be on show when England and India launch a four-Test series at Lord's on Thursday, but the spotlight may fall on the umpires rather than the players.
Umpires will receive no help from technology commonly used in other international cricket matches, mainly because India rejects key parts that can help umpires to give leg before wicket decisions.
The umpires, New Zealander Billy Bowden and Pakistan's Asad Rauf, will be feeling the pressure even more after Australian umpire Daryl Harper quit cricket early, accusing Indian cricketers of adopting "bullying" tactics on the field during the recent series against West Indies.
England will be confident after a convincing series victory over Sri Lanka, and the home team could once again be helped by cool, overcast conditions that assist seamers like James Anderson and Chris Tremlett.
Pugnacious fast bowler Stuart Broad is likely to get the nod from coach Andy Flower over Tim Bresnan. Flower denied Broad was being used as an "enforcer" to unsettle batsmen. "His job is to create pressure and to take wickets and to do that you generally bowl at off stump," Flower told the Guardian newspaper.
India, the world No. 1 Test team and one-day world champions, have the most feared batting lineup, but will be without explosive opener Virender Sehwag for at the least the first two Tests because of a shoulder injury.
"We've heard that he'll be over here maybe the third and fourth Test, so we're crossing our fingers for that," said India coach Duncan Fletcher, a former England coach.
Fletcher is keenly aware that his batting lineup, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, is comfortable with English weather conditions and should not be overly troubled.
"They're in a good space at the moment and they can carry on," he said. "Over here it could be different because the outfield should be miles faster than in the West Indies."
India's batting still revolves around Tendulkar, the little master who at the age of 38 will be looking for his 100th international century at Lord's. With 14,692 Test runs and 18,111 one-day runs, Tendulkar could be central to India's efforts to prevent England taking over the top spot of Test teams.
The Indians have had only one warm-up game in England, but were given a stiff working-over during the three-Test series in the Caribbean, which they won 1-0 without impressing. A three-day game against Somerset allowed England captain Andrew Strauss to bat himself back into form with an unbeaten century against a weakened India bowling attack.
India's weakness, if it has one, is its bowling, although Zaheer Khan is a veteran seamer and Harbhajan Singh is still one of the world's best spinners.
England's batsmen, especially openers Strauss and Alastair Cook, are in strong form, as is South African-born Jonathan Trott, who has succeeded in reaching a Test average of 62 while infuriating opposing fielders with his labored preparations for each delivery.
Kevin Pietersen is yet to recover the form that made him the best batsman in the world a few years ago, but remains a potent force and a potential match-winner.