Thursday, October 25, 2001 "Here's Tufnell in again to Tendulkar. He's down the wicket and it could be six more. Yes, glorious shot, and Bell at long-on can only watch as it sails into the stand ..."

Unlikely? Maybe, but not as unlikely as it once was. The odds are that England will go to India, but leave behind a handful of refuseniks. Craig White, Andy Caddick and Ashley Giles are openly reluctant to give their young families six weeks of worry. Graham Thorpe and Marcus Trescothick are wavering. Darren Gough and Alec Stewart have pulled out for other reasons, and Mike Atherton has retired. At Mohali on December 3, it could be a radically new England that Nasser Hussain leads across the moat and through the ring of heavily armed guards. Assuming all the doubters stay home, this is how the teamsheet might look -- with seven changes from The Oval in August.

1 Michael Vaughan Says he is keen, and no wonder: he has the chance to make a place his own for the first time. In the last Test for which he was fit, against Pakistan at Old Trafford in May, he made a hundred. Has never opened in a Test, but is the natural heir to Atherton -- and maybe Hussain as well.

2 Mark Butcher The find of the summer, when he became an automatic pick at No. 3. But he still opens for Surrey and if Trescothick doesn't go, he is the obvious understudy. The earlier he gets in, the more runs he will be able to punch and tuck off the seamers before a man in a turban comes on to torment him with the slow stuff.

3 Nasser Hussain (capt) Dropped himself to No. 4 last May but has often gone in first-wicket down, notably when making his first Test hundred, against Srinath and Prasad at their peak, on a greentop at Edgbaston in 1996. If he can make it there, he can make it anywhere. India, where he was born but has never played a Test, will suit him.

4 Mark Ramprakash Remember England's last Test? All the batsmen got a start, but only one man went on to make the big score that was needed after Australia had piled up 600. In a magnificent reversal of fortune, that man was Ramprakash, with a resolute and stylish 132. And he is usually more effective with the sun on his back, as he puts it.

5 Owais Shah Middlesex's new Ramps is in danger of being England's too. Called up for the one-day series, he took to international cricket better than any current England batsman except Trescothick, but was then sidelined for the Ashes in favour of the less obviously gifted Afzaal. Went to Zimbabwe for the one-day series, but was dumped to make way for Ramprakash and faced only two balls. Now Ramps in turn has been discarded from the one-day side, while Shah keeps his place in the squad. A natural call-up for the Test party if Thorpe pulls out.

6 Andy Flintoff The original 16 had a glaring flaw: there was nobody who could bat in the top six and bowl, and thus no hope of playing more than four bowlers. The selectors can get themselves off this hook by sending for Ben Hollioake or, more likely, Flintoff, whose heavy ball and hefty bat were back in the swing in Zimbabwe. Still an injury waiting to happen, but that is a risk England will have to take.

7 Alex Tudor Craig White, who averaged 59 in Pakistan last winter, was the only man in the original party who could inspire much confidence at No. 7. If he pulls out, the selectors need to take another punt and bring back the prodigal Tudor, who was last heard of going to Sandhurst with the Academy squad -- and getting injured. Memo to Duncan Fletcher: Vaughan has a poor fitness record too, and you've never held it against him. As well as lower-order runs, Tudor can supply the cutting edge that England badly need. If he can rattle the Waughs at Trent Bridge, he can be a matchwinner at Mohali, India's most seam-friendly surface.

8 James Foster (wk) No call-ups required here: Foster is 21 and as happy as any other British student to live dangerously in South Asia. Warren Hegg is 33 and may never get another chance. Whether either will establish himself is another matter, but England can console themselves that India have even less idea who is their best keeper.

9 Robert Croft If Giles stays at home, Croft becomes the No. 1 spinner. Not an entirely reassuring thought, but he is another who grows in stature once he gets past Heathrow. Played his part in Sri Lanka with nine wickets at 28, but can he possibly trouble the world's best players of slow bowling?

10 Matthew Hoggard Already earmarked to stand in for Gough, he may have to deputise for Caddick as well. This is what is known in the trade as a big ask. But he is strong, willing, takes wickets with the new ball, and reverse-swings the old one.

11 Phil Tufnell Done the autobiographies, done the Sky commentary, now it's time to do the elephants, the poverty and the time warp again. The sole survivor of the infamous prawn tour of 1992-93, unless you count Graham Gooch, who is going as a BBC radio commentator. Tuffers's latest recall was a fiasco, when the Aussies singled him out for a bullying at The Oval. But he is more likely to bag a seven-for out of nowhere than Richard Dawson.

Bubbling under
Ian Bell The best young batsman in England, he ended the season batting like a prince for Warwickshire. Better to give him a go now, at 19, than resort to a county journeyman.

Graeme Hick OK, we know what you're thinking. But rescuing aged underperformers from oblivion worked against Australia (Butcher, Ramprakash) and Hick has form in India. In 1992-93, he was England's leading batsman, bowler and catcher, and also proved to be top-class at steering clear of the seafood.

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