Rare chance for Broad's brave, young England to hone Twenty20 skills

With the selection of players such as Ben Stokes (above), England have put their faith in fearless youth (GETTY IMAGES)

Amid all the fuss about becoming Test champions of the world it is easy to forget that England got there first in Twenty20. It may have elicited much less fuss and given the general sniffiness towards the shortest form of the game it probably did not receive the attention it deserved.

England won the title against the odds and expectation in the Caribbean in the spring of last year in an exhibition of assertive cricket every bit as complete as their recent Test performances. In a way, their campaign to retain it begins today with a one-off match against India at Old Trafford, a curtain raiser to the series of five one-day internationals played across 50 overs which begins in Chester-le-Street on Saturday.

International T20 continues to struggle for a context if not an audience. The International Cricket Council, between a rock and a hard place, is reluctant to promote it too forcefully lest it detract from the other limited-overs form, or, more worryingly, from Test cricket.

Thus, there is an uneasy understanding that club tournaments such as the Indian Premier League and the Champions League, which is being staged next month, should take priority. It is probably true, however, that international T20 would find ready and willing spectators aplenty if there was more of it.

The intention is to have a world event each two years but all the teams who congregate for the fourth tournament in Sri Lanka next September will be short of match practice. Since winning the trophy in Barbados last May with a resounding victory against Australia, England have played only five further T20 internationals. Indeed, there have been only 26 throughout the world.

There will hardly be overkill between now and the next championship. England will play two more in India in October, three against Pakistan in the new year and perhaps four more at home next summer. In these circumstances, it is hard for any country to find an appropriate blend as England did at the last minute and with a hint of good fortune in 2010.

The selection of the squad for today's match against an India side that will be desperate to put behind them their dreadful Test form shows that England are rebuilding now. By including Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler in the cadre of 13, they have gone for fearless youth, which may also assist them in the field.

Hales has been in prime form for Nottinghamshire for most of the summer across all forms, Stokes has won legions of admirers and while Buttler has not made a plethora of runs this summer he looks the part to all who have seen him. Stokes is 20, Buttler will be 21 next week, Hales is 22. These are bold calls by the selectors and it is not fanciful to think they all may eventually be bound for Sri Lanka in 12 months' time.

One obvious drawback to any hopes of becoming champions again is the lack of opportunity for the new captain Stuart Broad. If it was harsh to sack Paul Collingwood, who led England to the title, it was also correct.

But Broad has had little captaincy experience and that will still be the case when England come to defend their title. Every match he plays and every decision he makes will be important to the team's development.

By the time the one-day series begins on Saturday, England will have had four captains in less than a fortnight – Andrew Strauss in the final Test at The Oval, Eoin Morgan in the one-dayer in Dublin, Broad today, with Alastair Cook coming in at the weekend as official ODI captain. It is not, at least, a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Old Trafford details

England S C J Broad (capt), R S Bopara, T T Bresnan, J C Buttler, J W Dernbach, S T Finn, A D Hales, C Kieswetter, E J G Morgan, S R Patel, K P Pietersen, B A Stokes, G P Swann.

India M S Dhoni (capt), V R Aaron, R Ashwin, R S Dravid, G Gambhir, V Kohli, P S S Kumar, A Mishra, M M Patel, P Patel, A M Rahane, S K Raina, R G Sharma, R P Singh, R V Kumar.

Umpires Rob Bailey and Richard Illingworth.

Weather Dry and bright, although still rather cloudy. Any showers, should be isolated and short-lived. Max 18°C.

TV Times SkySports1: 5.30pm. Channel 5: 12am-12:55am.

Odds England 8-11 India 11-10.