England were grappling with fitness problems ahead of their practice game against the Board President's XI, beginning in Vadodara on Thursday, the climate and conditions getting the better of as many as five of their players.
Middle-order batsman Paul Collingwood was ruled unfit as he is yet to recover from the back spasm that affected him during the warm-up game in Mumbai last weekend, while four other players were reported sick on the eve of the match at the IPCL grounds.
Crucially, it is England's bowling quartet -- reverse swing talent Simon Jones and spinners Shaun Udal, Monty Panesar and Ian Blackwell -- who have been laid low by a stomach virus.
Consequently, the visitors will make a decision on their playing combination on the morning of the match, which is the only first-class fixture ahead of the first Test, beginning March 1 in Nagpur.
Adapting to the tropical heat change from the cold weather back home has been a major challenge for the Englishmen. Their task is bound to grow as they move away from cool sea breeze of Mumbai, where they arrived about 10 days back.
On the other hand, the host team, led by Venugopala Rao, is in a vibrant mood.
The Indian squad for the first Test will be announced on Thursday, but that has not affected the enthusiasm of a talented bunch keen to capitalize on the opportunity to play against a visiting Test team.
The focus will be on Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir, who are keen to grab the specialist openers' slot, while captain Rao gets a chance to again stake claim for a slot in the Indian team.
Suresh Raina, who impressed in the one-day series in Pakistan, will also be keen on grabbing the Test vacancy arising from the injury-forced lay-off of Yuvraj Singh and the same can be said of Kerala pacer S Sreesanth.
Rao had a face-off with Simon Jones when the England bowler visited India as a member of the England cricket academy team that played in the Duleep Trophy two seasons ago.
The Andhra batsman slammed a double hundred to lead South Zone to a sensational victory while chasing a record 500-plus fourth innings target.
Jones would not have forgotten Rao's fluent strokes that sent him and his teammates on a leather hunt to all parts of the Teri Oval in Gurgaon near Delhi.
"Yes, I remember that knock. But it is in the past, I am keenly focussed on tomorrow's match," Rao said.
Raina and Sreesanth said they were keen to build on their good show in Pakistan.
"The Indian team did a great job in the one-dayers in Pakistan and I have the confidence and the momentum now. Ours is a young side, all of us are keen to do well," Uttar Pradesh batsman Raina said.
Sreesanth echoed his opinion, saying, "I am lucky to be in the probables (for the Test squad). I had the team's support in Pakistan. I followed the schedule given by the team management and performed well. It is still a learning curve for me."
Kiran More, chairman of selectors and coach of the Presiden't XI, said it should not matter that the squad for the first Test would be announced without looking at the players' performance in the match.
"It is a professional game. There is going to be enough opportunity for the lads in the future," he said.
"There is lot of cricket to be played and we want to look at various combinations. It is not for one match or two, and also it is not about picking a 14 or 15. We need 20-25 players as our bench strength."
The pitch at the IPCL Sport Complex had a tinge of grass and could offer more bounce, just as it did in the tour opener at the Brabourne stadium.
More also revealed the team could play three seamers.
"We want to play fast bowlers rather than the spinners," he said.
All that could be part of a grand strategy to not let the visitors get a taste of the Test combination.
Teams (from):
Board President's XI: Venugopala Rao (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, Dheeraj Jadhav, S Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Kaarthick (wk), Amit Mishra, Ramesh Powar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Shib Shankar Paul, Sreesanth and Vikram Rajvir Singh.
England: Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Geraint Jones, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Shaun Udal, Monty Panesar and Ian Blackwell.
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