OBSESSIVE speculation on how a pitch would play used to be the exclusive domain of Headingley All that changed a year ago, however, when Edgbaston staged one of the more bloodthirsty Test matches in recent times.
Memories of Curtly Ambrose's opening delivery - which pitched barely short of length but disappeared over Mike Atherton's head with roughly the same velocity, trajectory and explosiveness of an Ariane rocket - still sees strong men waking in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
The game, which left England beaten, battered and bruised, was over well before lunch on the third day, and even the captain, tough as a two-bob steak, admits that he cannot totally distance himself from the thought of it.
"It is possible to read too much into a pitch," he mused yesterday after another look at Steve Rouse's offering for the first Test against India. "It's there, all 22 yards of it, and you have to play on it. But what happened last year is in the back of my mind."
Although India pose less of a threat to life and limb than did the West Indies, Edgbaston could not afford another fiasco like that, which saw hordes of disgruntled punters demanding financial satisfaction. This time, with the same pitch set aside, the cold weather meant the grass did not grow properly, so a second one, approved by the Test and County Cricket Board's inspector of pitches Harry Brind, will be used. The old one, alongside, looked verdant yesterday; the new one is inviting as much speculation as last year's.
A week ago David Lloyd gave it the once-over and suggested that it was evenly grassed, and the prognosis was that England would unleash a battery of seam bowlers at the Indians, who devour spin in any case. Now things are not so clear, with Lloyd amending his opinion slightly.
"It's evenly grassed in the right places," he said. Quite what that means is difficult to assess. Yesterday it was still drying out, but although the grass is less prominent than last year it is still there in clumps on a length for a seamer operating from the pavilion end. In the right place.
The problem with such clumps, or crowns, of grass is that they make for an uneven surface which pace bowlers, the quicker the better, can exploit. Hit the upslope of a crown and the ball flies; take the downslope and it shoots. If it misses altogether and lands on the bare earth cracked already, it comes through at a different pace. And if the cracks dry out and expand in the warm weather then things can become even worse. In such circumstances no batsman is ever "in".
Although Lloyd emphasised yesterday that England had selected a squad that would provide them with 11 to cover most situations, there is no doubt that plans have been thrown out of kilter. When the side was announced on Sunday it seemed clear that the spinner, Min Patel, would miss out and with him Ronnie Irani, who is part of the package. Now the chances of them both playing, at the expense of John Crawley and probably Peter Martin, are greatly enhanced, particularly as Raymond Illingworth is an advocate of a "balanced" attack and would need little arm-twisting.
The choice of Patel, born in Bombay, would lend piquancy, as would that of Alan Mullally, brought up in Australia. Patel already spends much of his time over the wicket feeding off the foot marks of right-arm bowlers such as Dominic Cork, who bowls so close to the stumps. The left-arm Mullally would provide a different option.
