Ian Botham: Team India will be tested in England

Ian Botham believes that the forthcoming away series against England will be the real test for the visitors

Team India has managed to top the table by virtue of their triumphs at home believes Ian Botham. The legendary allrounder also believed the forthcoming away series against England will be the real test for the visitors, said legendary cricketer.

India will tour England this July after their assignment in the Caribbean. During the tour, India will play four Tests – the first of which starts at Lord’s on July 21 – five ODIs and a one-off Twenty20 match.

“India are currently ranked No. 1 in the world and they got there by playing some decent cricket, mainly at home. But when you consider that they have only beaten Bangladesh and New Zealand in their last six away trips, then you realise that they have got a bit to prove to people this summer,” Bothan wrote in his column for the Mirror newspaper.

He also added that the points table is no indicator of which the strongest team is.

“The England Test team is the best in world cricket and they will prove it beyond doubt this summer.

“Forget the rankings designed by men with computers who believe that logarithms can tell us who is playing the best cricket more accurately than we can see with our eyes,” the former English captain added.

“England are unbeaten in seven series with six of them ending in victory for Andrew Strauss‘ side, and the pinnacle of these was the magnificent Ashes campaign last winter. That sealed it for me. Not just because it was the Ashes and winning them in Australia is notoriously difficult, but because they did it so comprehensively and in such style,” Botham said.

“It takes something special to win Down Under, but it takes a rare gem of a side to do it with three innings defeats and leave the Australians floundering around looking for someone to blame before turning on each other,” he reasoned.

He said what augurs well for England is the mixture of youth and experience of the present team.

“The real beauty of this England team is their age and their experience. They have nearly all played enough Test cricket to be considered old pros, yet most of them are still so young,” Botham wrote.

“Unlike the 2005 team that reached a peak and was then ravaged by retirements and injuries, this England side has plenty of cricket left in it. Only Strauss and Graeme Swann are over 30 and I can see the England skipper continuing to lead the side into the next Ashes series,” he added.

Englands key assignments this summer will be their series against India and Sri Lanka and Botham added winning those will aid them attain “world supremacy”.