England to take 2nd Test initiative

The first port of call for players and punters alike when looking ahead to the second Test at Trent Bridge between England and India is the weather forecast.

With England denied victory by one wicket thanks to a combination of bad light and rain in game one at Lord's there were some glum faces on the home balcony and even glummer ones in living rooms around the country given the weight of money wagered on Michael Vaughan's men.

The good news for both camps this time is that the forecast is good enough to give England that little bit of extra time they need to assert their superiority.

There are only showers forecast for the first day. After that Nottingham should be bathed in sunshine for the next four days with Sunday a scorcher.

There is slight concern that India's batsmen may find conditions more to their liking but there was enough evidence from the first match that they are struggling for form.
Only Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik held England up and they are two players that England are not going to lose sleep over. They would be worried if Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulakr were showing signs of being in nick.

But they are not. Instead England's two best strokemakers, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan, are showing them how it should be done. When those two are firing England's run rate goes up, an important factor to give their bowlers plenty of time to do the business.

They were impressive at Lord's and complimented each other well. Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson provided the swing and Chris Tremlett the pace. It is a combination which should finally give England a series lead.

Verdict: 3pts England @ 6/4 (Skybet)