| INTERNATIONAL CRICKET |
| England v India |
| First Test, Lord's |
| 10.30am, July 19-23, SS1 & HD1 |
Former England opener Nick Knight told Sky Sports News that India's greater experience could be a decisive factor in the forthcoming Test series.
The first of a three-match series gets under way at Lord's on Thursday, live on Sky Sports 1, and the tourists are expected to provide far sterner opposition than West Indies did earlier this summer.
The Indians may be renowned for a superstar batting line-up, but Knight believes they have proven performers in all areas of the side.
And the former Warwickshire batsman believes England's star men have a bit of catching up to do on their counterparts...
BOWLERS: Anil Kumble (Tests 115, wickets 552 @ 28.58) v Monty Panesar (Tests 17, wickets 65 @ 28.40)
Knight: "Anil Kumble's been around world cricket for so long and he's proved he can dominate in all conditions - in his own country or over here.
Kumble: Proven
"Monty Panesar is a relative newcomer to Test cricket, but he's very comfortable in England and bowls a good holding line as well as a good attcking one.
"In the end Panesar may have more variety, but at this stage Kumble's probably got enough to outwit some of the England players unless they're really on top of their games."
BATSMEN: Sachin Tendulkar (Tests 137, runs 10,922 @ 55.44) v Kevin Pietersen (Tests 27, runs 2553 @ 52.10)
Knight: "Tendulkar seems to be able to read situations, at Test or one-day level, and to out-think the bowler. Having played against him on a few occasions, he almost seems to be in position before the ball is bowled.
Pietersen: Dominating
"He's a great technician and works hard on that, but he manages also to get in the bowler's head.
"Kevin Pietersen's great strength is he's a dominator - he can take a game away from you so quickly.
"There's a fear factor in that no-one knows how good he's going to be. Yes, he's very good now - almost at the top of his game - but how much better is he going to get?"
WICKETKEEPERS: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Tests 17, dismissals 57, runs 810 @ 33.75) v Matt Prior (Tests 4, dismissals 8, runs 324 @ 64.80)
Knight: "I'm really excited about watching Dhoni - there's been a lot of hype.
Dhoni: Gifted batsman
"He's obviously a very gifted player, particularly with the bat. Quite how good he is with the gloves, we'll see.
"At the moment there's an emphasis on keepers being outstanding batsmen, and Prior is emerging as an outstanding batsman.
"He came into Test cricket against West Indies at Lord's - what a hundred that was - and he's kicked on from there.
"Certainly the potential's there, and we've seen at county level how good he is. At the moment, Dhoni's a little bit further down the line, but it will be a fascinating contest."
Coverage of England's first Test against India is live from 10am, Thursday, on Sky Sports 1 & HD1 and you can also follow all the action with skysports.com's exclusive over-by-over commentary.
