England make the final - but beating India will be tough

Despite plenty of criticism, Alastair Cook has guided England's one-day side to the ICC Champions Trophy final to take place on Sunday. It is rare that an English team reaches the final of a major sporting event and, so far, England have been very good in this competition, but few would disagree with the bookies' choice of India as the favourites to take away the grand prize. So how can England win this competition?

England's progress through the tournament has been impressive and they have shown that when the conditions suit their game, England probably possess the finest bowling attack in the world, with Jimmy Anderson swinging the ball from leg to off, and vice versa, at will. But, as was all too evident in their game with Sri Lanka, if the ball stops swinging, England quickly run out ideas, even if their batsmen put on what should be a defendable score. With this in mind, England will definitely be hoping the ball moves around at Edgbaston on Sunday, much in the same way as it did against Australia.

James Tredwell has also been extremely impressive, seamlessly filling in for the injured Graeme Swann. His figures have actually been more impressive than England's usual off-spinner. Tredwell has taken 25 wickets in his 13 games since since January 2012 at a cost of 19.40 runs apiece. Swann, on the other hand, has taken 14 wickets in his 15 games during the same period conceding 42.78 runs per wicket. This may cause problems for those with the responsibility of picking the side for Sunday's final, but with the wicket at Edgbaston being reportedly dry, there exists the possibility that both men could start.

Broad, Bresnan and Finn are also worthy of mention for their performances during the tournament, and although I was of the belief that they were bowling too many bouncers, my views have been proven wrong by the number of wickets they have picked up along the way. In addition to the full time bowlers, both Root and Bopara have proved themselves to very handy part timers, more than capable of filling in for the others during the spare overs. But Root and Bopara are not wicket takers and Cook would do well to use them more wisely than perhaps he did against South Africa. With the Proteas at 80-8, Cook took the strike bowlers out of the attack and allowed South Africa to more than double their existing total. Against India, England will have to be more ruthless and pounce upon any opportunity they get to dismiss the sub-continental team for a sub par score.

Despite these strengths, England cannot rely wholly on their bowlers to do the job, especially against a side whose pedigree with the bat is well known. Cook, Bell and Trott have all been criticised for being too slow, having as they do, strike rates around 75. They have also struggled to establish par score for the pitch in the opening overs when batting first. As a result of this, one would fully expect India to put England in to bat should they win the toss, and, for the same reasons, England will probably be just as keen to bowl at the Indians should the coin land in their favour. Despite the pundits' reservations, England's batsmen have done a good enough job so far, and the failure of England to beat Sri Lanka was more likely to do with some uninspired bowling rather than the relatively good score that England posted in their innings. 

Still, accusations of poor tactics and slow run rates have been forthcoming. Some have suggested that the likes of Root, Morgan, Buttler and Bopara are too good to be coming in at the end of an innings to play little more than a smash and bang cameo. But, it is a tactic that has worked quite well, and the focus of a captain cannot be to grant justice to a batsman's abilities if that could compromise the possibility of a team victory. Whatever England decide to do on Sunday, a big score will be needed, either to give the bowlers enough wriggle room to bowl effectively at India or in order to chase what everyone is expecting to be a big Indian total.

India have been by far and away the best team throughout this tournament, especially with the bat. Shikhar Dhawan, the new Indian opener, has scored 332 runs in four matches including two centuries. He will need to be dispatched quickly unless he is to prove as villainous to England's chances as his wonderful moustache suggests. Dhawan's wicket will be key for England, but with the likes of Kohli, Sharma and Dhoni further down the order, there will still be lots of work to do should Dhawan depart early.

Ravi Ashwin will also be a key part of India's game on Sunday, not only can he be a dangerous batsman, his bowling can be tough to get away and score runs from, and his haul of three wickets against Pakistan is not to be scoffed at. Ravi Jadeja has also had a very impressive tournament, taking 10 wickets in his four matches, but just as importantly, bowling a very tight line and earning himself an economy rate of 3.51. I have never been a big admirer of Ishant Sharma, but his bowling in this tournament, especially in the "death overs", has been tight, restricting the number of runs significantly at the most explosive point in the game.

Despite these bowling strengths, the battle for this match will come whilst India are hitting their total. England should have enough to deal with India's bowling attack, and if so, the responsibility will then lie with the Anderson et al to do their job with the most capable batting side in one day cricket. Anderson versus Dhawan will be the contest of the tournament, and I am licking my lips at such a prospect, for these are the reasons we all watch cricket.

England have a tough test ahead, but India will also be aware that England are far from pushovers. We have a great game ahead of us, but will it be the swing of the ball or the swing of the bat that prevails?

Cricket's Turn in the Sun

Last summer England took on South Africa in what should have been one of the best contests of the day. Instead the Test matches were an anti climax in terms of the competition they provided. With the cricket team on the back foot, but failing to hit a thing, it was hardly surprising that the public were attracted by the once in a lifetime, British success that was the Olympics. Furthermore, the summer ended on sour note with the resignation of Andrew Strauss. But this year, all being well, it will be cricket's turn to shine and to take centre stage as England face Australia in back to back Ashes series, and a myriad ODIs and T20s.

Worryingly however, a subject has been made of this being Test cricket's final stand especially In a world where cricket is dominated by its largest market, India, a market where Test cricket is very much on the decline. England and Australia are perhaps the only two countries where Tests still have a prestige status, and this year may be the last chance for them to prove this point, especially considering the ICC's unwillingness to introduce the long awaited Test Championship.

The cricketing year is already underway as England complete their ODI series in India. And after an extremely successful Test series which saw England win in India for the first time in 28 years, English fans have every right to be excited about the year to come. It is likely that the battle with Australia will be tighter than last year's South African series, and the added history between the two sides always enlivens the experience.

England should find rejuvenation in the appointment of a new Test captain. Alastair Cook has already begun his tenure with an astonishing 562 runs and a series victory in India. He will have plenty of opportunities to add to his rocketing reputation when he takes his team to New Zealand and then welcomes the Black Caps to England at the beginning of summer. Based on their most recent displays against South Africa, the Kiwis should provide little more than batting practice before the feature presentation of a five match Ashes series. After a bout of limited overs cricket, England will then travel immediately down under and, hopefully, beat back the Aussies for a second time.

It is hoped that this will provide cricket with its chance to excite the British public, and even more importantly, provide Test cricket with its opportunity to show the world that it still has a role to play in the modern game. An exciting Ashes battle may be able to achieve both of those objectives, but it will still take a concerted effort from the ICC and the BCCI to help keep test cricket alive. After a much anticipated ODI and T20 series between India and Pakistan, perhaps it would send a powerful message if that contest were to include a number of Test matches during its next occurrence.

It is certain that cricket will have to compete with the new British obsession of cycling, and the rising prospects of our tennis players, but the draw of an historic feud should propel the sport to the forefront and make it the year of the red, seamed ball.