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Jimmy Anderson may be fit but England have reason to resist change in India | Vic Marks

Verdant Visakhapatnam does not look the place to recall England’s record wicket-taker given the third Test in Mohali starts so soon afterwards, and the spinners are finding their rhythmFor the second match in succession England will play on a new Test ground and that brings many virtues. Here on the outskirts of a city that sits alongside the Bay of Bengal is a stadium that has been polished for the grand occasion.Beyond the neat, symmetrical stands, the verdant, tree-lined hills rise up spectacularly. We might be in Pallekele just outside Kandy or somewhere leafy in the Caribbean. The practice facilities are spacious and of the highest quality, just as they were in Rajkot, while the rest of the grassland outside...

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Selection puzzles and keeping faith – what England and India must do next

Jimmy Anderson may struggle to displace England’s in-form bowlers while India need to call time on struggling Gautam GambhirJimmy Anderson says he is fit and appears keen to play in the second Test in Visakhapatnam – although he did not appear to mention the venue by name. This alone raises questions: even if the selectors decide it’s not worth it then leaving out England’s record wicket-taker is a decision they will have to justify. And if Anderson does come into the team, who drops out? Stuart Broad, the other senior bowler, was rested only one Test ago. Dropping either of the other two seamers, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, not only means leaving out an in-form player but weakens a...

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