Return of Sehwag gives England food for thought

A win for England in the third Test against India at Edgbaston would crown them as the best side in the world, and with the tourists demoralised after two heavy defeats and missing an array of frontline players then it could be on the cards.

Bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh are out, as is Yuvraj Singh. However, India will be boosted by the return of one of the talismans, opener Virender Sehwag, universally regarded as one of the most dangerous batsman in the world and the kind of opener who can knock off a triple century in a mere 278 balls.

His presence at the top of the order not only gives England's bowlers something to think about  it also means that the iconic middle order of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman will operate as three, four and five.

Tendulkar is still on the hunt for his 100th international hundred and the expectation heightens with every passing match. He also looked as though he was coming into form as the rest of the batting disintegrated around him during the second innings at Trent Bridge.

And while England are on a roll, the usually settled batting line-up has been messed up by the absence of Jonathan Trott. He has been replaced by Ravi Bopara, who last played Test cricket in 2009. Back then he was tried out as a number three and failed, so this time he has been relegated to sixth in the order, which means Ian Bell will bat at three and Eoin Morgan at five.

Captain Andrew Strauss has insisted that the team will not be affected by the violence and rioting across the country in recent days, but the uncertainty it has created may have interrupted the players' preparations. It is the sort of situation that teams touring the sub-continent have had to deal with before but not one that the English players will ever have experienced in a home series.

If they do win the match then England will have done enough to win the series by a margin of two games and will therefore leapfrog India in the rankings, and become the best team in the world. But taking that 3-0 series lead could be harder than it appears on paper. ·