Hard choices for Hussain on selection and tactics

Second Test: England's bowling line-up will be difficult to decide for pitch that is problematic to read

You are in charge of a weakened and inexperienced side but one up with three to play in a Test series. What do you do: consolidate or belligerently march on and make the most of your advantage?

These will be the thoughts running through the mind of the England captain, Nasser Hussain, as he mulls over his side and the tactics to employ at Trent Bridge, where the second Test against India starts today.

At the moment Hussain has the tourists exactly where he wants them: worrying about their own side, his side, him, and anything else you can think of. This week's challenge is to ensure they are equally confused come Monday.

In sport at this level, the initiative can change so quickly that you need to get almost every decision right so you do not allow the opposition the chance of wedging their foot in the door. This morning Hussain faces two such dilemmas before the umpire calls "play".

The first is do England go for the swing, perseverance and experience of Dominic Cork or the raw, pace and potential of Stephen Harmison, or play both and omit the left-arm spin of Ashley Giles. The Giles option is the unlikeliest but when this squad was announced on Sunday, Harmison would have had his nose quite a distance in front. Requiring a like for like replacement for the injured Simon Jones, to rough up India's talented batting line-up and keep on the back foot, the 23-year-old Durham pace man appeared to fit the bill.

However, on arriving in Nottingham, where 60mm of rain has fallen during the recent storms and more was forecast overnight and today, the picture became fuzzy. The muggy, heavy atmosphere should allow the ball to swing and a grassy, damp-looking pitch – whose weather-interrupted preparation has been a concern for the groundsman – is likely to reward a bowler who pitches the ball up, and gets it consistently in the right area. In the home straight it appears that Harmison has once again been pipped, this time by Cork.

After writing that 11th name on the team-sheet Hussain then has to decide what he will do if he wins the toss. Most teams like to bat first – it allows them to grab hold of the game and dictate. The 48 previous Tests at Trent Bridge confirm this. On 42 occasions, the correct caller has chosen to bat. In eight of the last 10 Tests this has also been the case, but the side batting first has won only one and lost three of these contests. On the six occasions a captain has decided to field first he has yet to end up on the losing side.

So there it is, Nasser, it is simple: play Cork and bowl if you win the toss. But this is not a good hunting ground for Cork. His nine wickets have cost more than 46 runs apiece, and cracks in the pitch may offer inconsistent bounce later in the game. Harmison is back with a shout.

After spending half an hour pacing up and down the 22 yards of turf in contemplation, Hussain said: "It is an unusual-looking Trent Bridge pitch and I would be guessing if I was to tell you exactly what I thought the pitch will do. It would be a good toss to lose."

While Hussain's head may be buzzing, the biggest decision for his Indian counterpart, Sourav Ganguly, was taken out of his hands yesterday when Anil Kumble was declared unfit with a calf strain. After being comprehensively beaten in conditions that should have suited his side at Lord's, Ganguly and his coach, John Wright, now have the difficult task of motivating and inspiring their team in an environment that is typically English.

India's biggest mistake in the first Test was leaving out their second-best bowler, Harbhajan Singh. Through Kumble's withdrawal, Singh will now play, which should not make a great deal of difference to the potency of their bowling attack. It also means that Ajit Agarkar, the bowler who was most under threat if India chose to play two spinners, will keep his place in the side after scoring an unbeaten century in the first Test.

One choice having been made for him, Ganguly may still have to make another important one, should he win the toss. Watching the wary way that he also eyed up the pitch, he will agonise over this final decision as much as Hussain. No wonder captains are paid more!

ENGLAND (from): N Hussain (Essex, capt), M P Vaughan (Yorkshire), R W T Key (Kent), M A Butcher (Surrey), J P Crawley (Hampshire), A J Stewart (Surrey, wkt), A Flintoff (Lancashire), C White (Yorkshire), A F Giles (Warwickshire), S J Harmison (Durham), M J Hoggard (Yorkshire), D G Cork (Derbyshire).

INDIA (from): S C Ganguly (capt), W Jaffer, V Sehwag, A Nehra, R S Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, A Ratra (wkt), A B Agarkar, A Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh.

Umpires: R B Tiffin (Zim), RE Koertzen (SA).