Well the time has come for us to get stuck into our winter programme. On Thursday, in Bulawayo we start off our two Test Match Series against India, who on paper, and on recent performance look a very formidable unit.

I read through their team sheet the other day, and the thought struck me that on their day, every member of their team could be a match winner. Not many other teams in the world could boast such strength and depth.

India's batting has always been its strength, and with players like Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, and Ganguly it is no surprise why. But with Srinath fit again, Zaheer Khan, Agarkar and of course Harbhajan Singh bowling for them, the balance of their side has never looked better. With John Wright at the helm they have gone from strength to strength. I feel it is going to take a lot of good gutsy cricket from us to get one over the Indians.

Having said all of this, though, there still hangs over their heads the fact that their away record is nothing short of "a few unprintable four letter words".

They have been described as Tigers at home and Lambs abroad, and I am sure that they will be going all out to try and change this particular title as well as their record.

This however could work in our favour, as they get to a stage where they start pushing too hard to achieve results, we will be there, hopefully, to cash in on any errors and mistakes they may make.

It promises to be a fascinating contest, something I can't wait to start and get my teeth into. I think people will enjoy the battle between the two teams no more so than the individual duels we are going to witness. Heath Streak against Sachin Tendulkar, and Andrew Flower against Harbhajan Singh promises to be a great contest between great players - Let the action begin!

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