Hussain may opt for height of Tudor to nullify India

Following England's first two games against India in the NatWest one-day series, the captain Nasser Hussain can have no doubt over the size of the challenge that faces him and his bowlers during the second half of this summer's international programme.

The performances of India's batsmen, even in the short period of time we have had to look at them, have been breathtaking and Hussain must wonder at times how England are going to dismiss these batsmen during the four-Test series that follows the conclusion of this tournament.

The sight of India's batsmen flogging his hapless bowlers at Lord's and in the abandoned game at Chester-le-Street on Thursday, has led Hussain, who has previously been an advocate of playing on good flat batting pitches – because it forces bowlers to work hard for their wickets – to infer that it would be nice to play on a pitch that has a little bit in it for the seamers.

Hussain has compared the pitches England have played on in the Test series against Sri Lanka and the current one-day triangular series, to surfaces that grace the sub-continent. It appears that now he would prefer to see a pitch sporting a bit of grass rather than a dry, barren, 22-yard strip.

The two bowlers who have been able to give him a semblance of control have been Ronnie Irani and Andrew Flintoff. Apart from accuracy and discipline, it has been the bounce these two have extracted from the pitches that has prevented them from following their team-mates round the park. With the attainment of bounce closely related to height, it is no coincidence that Irani and Flintoff are the tallest bowlers England have played in the series.

Bounce is important in Test cricket, but vital in the one-day game. It allows you to get the ball up at an uncomfortable height for the batsmen. A shorter man, such as Darren Gough or James Kirtley, has to bang the ball in short to get it through at hip height and doing this, runs the risk of being punished by the pull shot. A taller man can do this from a fuller length, which irrespective of the speed of the delivery, gives the batsman less time to get in position to play the shot.

The shorter bowler, however, is better suited to bowling at the end of a one-day innings when yorkers are the requirement. It is easier for them to slide the ball up into the block hole, but this is only needed for a 10-over period in the game. The other 40 overs is where the fuller length skill is required.

A positive for England is that in Alex Tudor they have another tall bowler in reserve and he must have a very good chance of making his one-day debut against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford tomorrow.

He, as much as anyone, will be keenly watching today's game between India and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. If Sri Lanka lose, England will automatically qualify for the final a week today, thus giving Hussain and his fellow selectors the chance to have a look at another bowler. The 6ft 6in Surrey seamer should be the man.