Six months of chaos have left England's Test plans in tatters - Joe Root must be fearing the worst

Six months ago, Joe Root was hailing “five fantastic days” after one of England’s greatest Test performances - a 227-run win over India in Chennai which gave a seismic year the perfect start.

That now seems a very long time ago. Indeed, England probably have not had five fantastic days in total - on and off the field - since that victory was completed. Instead, Root has been forced to deal with a series of crises encompassing mental health, culture wars and the dilution of Test cricket by white-ball cricket.

A bad week here for England against India and a critical lens could be trained on the relentless pursuit of success for the Hundred by a board that ignores Test cricket at its peril given it still props up the English game financially.

Even in an Olympic year, a marquee series against world cricket’s superpower - led by arguably the most compelling player on the planet in Virat Kohli - should be the highlight of the summer. But around Nottingham the only signs of cricket in town are billboards for the Trent Rockets.

The fact remains that hosting an India Test is still the difference between healthy profit and a yearly loss for clubs like Nottinghamshire and it will be a while before the Hundred fills that hole.

Winning this series would be a remarkable coup for Root, given the circumstances. He is missing his totem, Ben Stokes, who is burnt out and missing the summer; his most intimidating bowler, Jofra Archer, who likely to not play Test cricket again until at least this winter's Ashes series in Australia; and he has an embryonic top six that has managed one century in 10 innings since that Test in Chennai and just one total above 300.

Rest and rotation, selection errors, playing Test cricket in pandemic-induced biobubbles and the controversy over Ollie Robinson’s historic tweets, which dragged others into the row and dominated the build-up to the second New Zealand Test, have all drained England’s batteries and somehow Root has to provide the spark again.

The loss of Stokes is huge for the team’s morale but he has also been England’s best performing batsman at home over the past three years, averaging 44 to Root’s 32.

The top three are under scrutiny technically and mentally and face an India attack that covers every base. Dom Sibley made 80 for Warwickshire in the County Championship but the rest have barely played since the New Zealand defeat as white ball cricket hogs high summer. Ollie Pope, Root and Dan Lawrence last played first-class cricket in that Test at Edgbaston and Zak Crawley has had one championship innings since then, a six-ball duck for Kent thanks to James Anderson. At least that is something. That is six more red balls than Jos Buttler has faced since he helped England win that Chennai Test.

India hastily arranged a three-day match against a County XI in Durham after feeling undercooked for the Test championship final and presumably their nets have been high quality as well with bowlers trying to impress the captain and no Hundred or one-day cricket distractions. They published on social media a picture of a very green pitch at the start of the week suggesting they expect a seamer for Anderson but it has turned all summer here and Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja are such a potent pairing that leaving one out risks misreading conditions like England did in India.

England have the option of picking a seventh batsman as an insurance against another top order capitulation to the new ball but it would place a huge burden on the four bowlers with two of them in their late 30s - James Anderson and Stuart Broad - so a better balance would be to pick the two all-rounders, Robinson and Sam Curran, and stick with five specialist batsmen.

Robinson’s return has crept up unnoticed, a huge contrast to the attention he was under after the Lord’s Test. Aside from the controversy and embarrassment caused both to him and the England set up, he bowled superbly against New Zealand suggesting he could be a replacement for Broad and the data tells England that India struggle against tall bowlers.

Curran is highly rated in India for his IPL performances and winning contributions in his first Test series three years ago when he was often the deciding factor in a tight contest. Picking Broad and Anderson is sensible given their records at Trent Bridge and the need for experience but squeezing out Mark Wood leaves England without the point of difference they have long believed necessary against better teams.

For Jack Leach the loss of Stokes must have been gut wrenching. Not only did they share one of English cricket’s greatest moments at Headingley two years ago, but Stokes’s all-round skills give Leach passage into the team outside Asia.

England dropped Leach against New Zealand but that was early summer and since 2018 spin has averaged 43 in June Test matches. It drops to 34 in August to September when pitches are drier and more tired.

Trent Bridge will be full and is a great Test venue, the scene of so many memorable moments. The Hundred is successfully pulling in crowds and had a good start but it is the long-term effect it will have on occasions like this week that worries many.

Root and his team have the chance to alleviate some of those fears but it will not be easy. India’s team is stocked with high quality, experienced Test players. Root’s has been handicapped in so many ways.

Match details

England: Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root, Bairstow, Buttler, Curran, Robinson, Leach, Broad, Anderson.

India: Sharma, Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant, Ashwin, Jadeja, Sharma, Shami, Bumrah.

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Michael Gough

3rd umpire: Richard Illingworth