Mixed fortunes for India in tour matches The Indians have had a mixed opening to their England tour. The joy gained by a narrow win over Sussex on Saturday evaporated when an aggressive Kent side defeated the tourists by 21 runs at Canterbury on Monday. With Ashish Nehra rested, none of the bowlers - with the notable exceptions of Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble - could withstand the onslaught by the Kent batsmen. Zaheer claimed 4-38 from eight overs and Kumble returned very respectable figures of 2-28 in 10 overs in a match that saw Kent pile on 284 after opting to bat. The Indians, led by Sourav Ganguly (64) and Virender Sehwag (45), made a whirlwind start to their reply, but once the duo the departed, the fizz went missing. Earlier, Nehra and Sachin Tendulkar excelled in the tour-opener at Hove. The left-arm pacer claimed 4-27 off his 10 overs, while Tendulkar made an unbeaten 75 off 82 balls as India eked out a three-wicket win over Sussex in a low-scoring encounter.

A fascinating series lies ahead It may come as a surprise that, considering England did not even make the final of the last triangular series held here, the hosts have been listed as favourites for this NatWest series involving Sri Lanka and India. Sri Lanka, even though coming off an unsuccessful Test series, are listed second, while the Indians are rank outsiders. A close look at the squads suggests that the bookies might have got it all wrong. On paper, the Indians have a formidable batting line-up, an attack based on seam bowling - always favourable in English conditions - and two fine spin bowlers to exploit whatever turn they can from the pitch. Both England and Sri Lanka would be hard-pressed to offer a batting line-up as attractive as Ganguly, Tendulkar, Mongia, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman, Kaif and Yuvraj Singh. This array looks capable of running up totals that could be well beyond the reach of both their opponents. But the other two sides cannot be dismissed lightly. England bounced back from a 1-3 deficit to draw a one-day series in India, and they are coming into the contest brimming with confidence after their 2-0 Test series win against Sri Lanka. The loss of Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and Mark Butcher may hurt them significantly, but they still have enough talent to make a match of most ties. Sri Lanka will be hurting from their Test defeat and the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan is a vital factor. But their batting looks as strong as ever, and the 1996 World Champions are no pushovers in the limited-overs arena. The odds, then, may make it difficult to choose a winner, but they do guarantee a fascinating one-day series.

England to miss the services of Darren Gough It appears now that England will, in addition to Andrew Caddick, also miss Darren Gough for the NatWest series. A recurrence of his knee trouble is the culprit, as Yorkshire captain Darren Lehmann confirms. "It is the same knee problem as before, and it looks as if it is back to square one for him." A Yorkshire spokeswoman further added, "He was supposed to play for the second eleven yesterday, but we heard that his knee was playing up. He had played for our Academy team over the weekend." England have already lost Caddick to a side-strain suffered during the third Test against Sri Lanka, and their most consistent batsman from that series, Mark Butcher, has undergone knee surgery as well. Both should be back in the team for the four Tests against India, but Gough's injury looks to be England's biggest concern at the moment.

This could be the start of your career in cricket journalism. Write in to "The Writer in You." Click Here Put all that "useless" knowledge to the ultimate test. Play CricWhiz, CricInfo's online cricket quiz. Click Here Not yet a member of the most exclusive online cricket community? Join Stumped for fantastic membership rewards. Click Here