XtraTime Web Desk: Former England pacer, Phillip DeFreitas says that the hot and dry conditions will make India feel home, but he believes that the swinging duke balls will play a vital role in unsettling India.
Phillip DeFreitas retired way back in 1996, appeared in 103 ODIs and 44 tests for the three lions scalping 115 and 140 wickets respectively. Back in the day DeFreitas was known to be a team man, an aggressive pacer and at times a powerful hitter when the mood took him with an individual score of 88 in Tests and 67 in ODIs and over 500 runs in both formats. He also has the the distinction of being the only player in the history of the County Championship to take a five-wicket haul against each of the 18 first-class counties.
Phillip hails India’s spin attack to be the best among the two and he believes that seamers from both the side will be the key.
He expects speedstars Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad’s services to come in handy. “England would be hoping they remain fit and available for majority of Test matches because both are quality bowlers and they know how to utilize the conditions here. ”
He was in all praise for the Indian pacers as well as, all have gained a lot of exposure from the Indian Premier League over the years and it’s difficult to single out one player.
On asked of India’s chances this time around, “They are in UK for a while now and they must have got used to the conditions by now. I don’t expect any change in the conditions during Test series. Their batters have spent considerable time in the middle now. One thing they have to cope is the swing and there’s every chance that the Duke ball will swing”.
He expects first-timer in the Test format, Adil Rashid to replicate his ODI and T20 performances for England to justify his selection, as his selection has raised eyebrows all around England.
According to him the Test Series is going to be a tough one and says that Virat Kohli has evolved himself the last time he came to England.
“He is such a world class player. He would know himself that that he needs to score here. He must have worked very hard on his technique combating the swinging ball. I personally expect him to score runs in these conditions. They are all fantastic players. They have got a very settled batting line. They did well in Twenty20 and One-dayers. I don’t want to single out anyone. All of them are capable of scoring big hundreds.