The onset of the Indian summer

Tagging every tour that India undertakes as potentially its finest would be an exercise in disappointment waiting to happen. As Sourav Ganguly led his men to the Caribbean, there were genuine hopes - and indeed a strong possibility - that India would pull off that elusive series win. As it turned out, the team could shrug off none of India's famous on-tour habits, succumbing to a 2-1 loss in the Test series.

But the current tour of England promises to be different, even if it does not turn out significantly better in any way. With Sri Lanka having suffered through the worst of early summer conditions, India will face less harsh weather situations.

But the NatWest one-dayers will still present the Indians with a set of conditions very different from what they will be used to at home. For starters, the wickets will be far livelier, the ball more talkative in the air and, as a direct consequence, the batting more restrained.

Restrained batting? From the likes of Virender Sehwag and Sanath Jayasuriya?Well, it will have to be that or nothing. The slashing cuts that so famously race to the fence between point and third man will have to be essayed with utmost care, lest they wind up in the hands of the point fielder. Wristy, across-the-line flicks that pepper the mid-wicket fence will have to be attempted only after getting to know the degree of swing and seam movement that the bowlers are able to extract.

But before one begins to worry about the gloss that will be taken off the action, examine the flip side. True class will undoubtedly emerge to the fore, replacing slap-dash opportunism in the first 15 overs. English crowds have already witnessed this summer the artistry of which players like Mahela Jayawardene and Marvan Atapattu are capable. Add to the kitty Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and - the jewel in the Indian crown - Sachin Tendulkar, and one can safely rule out a paucity of batting treats.

For the key Indian batsmen, there will be more than a touch of homecoming to the tour. Dravid's successful stint at Kent has earned him a loyal if moderate fan following in England. Ganguly's 'fan' list will be small, if at all extant, after his controversial season with Lancashire, but he will be keen to prove a point or two. Already much disliked by sections of the world media, the Indian captain would like to do some damage control. An elegant victory in England would go a long way in achieving that.

Beyond all this lies the Tendulkar factor. The little master has made no secret of how much he enjoys playing in England. From the time he made his maiden Test century at Old Trafford to the time he turned out as a shy youngster for Yorkshire - becoming the first overseas professional to play for that steeped-in-tradition club - to his heroic century in the 1999 World Cup days after attending his father's funeral, Tendulkar has revelled in England.

His ability to adapt quickly to different conditions, his knack for picking the line and length of a delivery a shade earlier than most others, and his temperament are some of the reasons for Tendulkar's success. But there is another, more subtle reason that should not be dismissed too lightly.

It is an open secret that Tendulkar hates comparisons. When India take on the West Indies, it is billed as the Lara v Tendulkar contest. If the opposition is Australia, the prominent sideshow is Warne v Tendulkar. When it is the Proteas, 'White Lightning' Allan Donald spurs the battle within the war. With England, especially in the absence of pace spearhead Darren Gough, even the cleverest copy-writers and cliche-coiners will struggle to find such an 'attraction.'

Therein lies England's greatest strength. Although they have not grown to be as dominant a force in world cricket as their fans would like, their progress has been steady. Under the shrewd pair of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, England have been able to get more out of the resources at their disposal than most other teams in the recent past.

England have started to combine wonderfully as a one-day unit and are looking as sharp as can be. With the steady Marcus Trescothick and the breezy Nick Knight at the top, the stable Hussain, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart and Michael Vaughan in the middle order, followed by the explosive Andrew Flintoff, the batting looks in good hands. Matthew Hoggard's coming of age as a swing bowler with tremendous heart will go a long way in making up for the absence of Andy Caddick and Gough.

And Gough may well be back before the series is out.

With the number of British Asians playing higher standards of cricket increasing every year, the fan following from this strata has correspondingly jumped. It is not unusual to see a large number of Asian supporters waving Indian flags or dressed in Sri Lankan one-day replica shirts, egging their heroes on. But this is not the fall of a bastion of British society. It is merely the strengthening of the base of cricket followers in the land where the sport originated. Moreover, it is yet another reason why the NatWest triangular and the npower Test series will be well worth the trouble.