Darren Gough suggests blueprint for England pacers to tackle Indian batsmen

Darren Gough has asked the England pacers to attack the stumps and use the new ball effectively against India. The former English fast bowler also feels Jofra Archer will play a significant role for the visitors, owing to his IPL experience.

Many see England as the underdogs in the upcoming four-match Test series as India have a formidable home record. But Gough backed the England pacers to have an impact on Indian soil. Speaking to TOI, the 50-year-old said:

"For England, it will be a massive tour for Archer. Due to his IPL experience, he knows where to bowl on Indian pitches, and it will hold him in good stead. Stokes is a clever bowler and England should use him as a wicket-taker. Broad and Anderson have 1000 wickets between them, and you don't need to teach them anything new. In fact, given Broad and Anderson's form, England should play them both in the first Test and go with two spinners. From the second Test, England can look at playing three spinners."

Gough urged the England bowlers to attack the stumps, especially while coming up against the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara.

"England need to use the new ball well and attack the stumps as the ball is not going to swing and seam much. (Rohit) Sharma and (Shubman) Gill though tend to chase the off-stump deliveries so you might try your luck there. But Kohli, Pujara and (Ajinkya) Rahane will bat time, so there is no point in frustrating them by bowling the off-stump line. If you are bowling at the stumps, you also need to get the field right. Otherwise, you may go for runs. Once the ball gets old, you can bowl back of length, hit the pitch hard and vary your pace," added Darren Gough.

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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 2, 2021

India are unbeaten against England at home in their last six encounters, winning four of those Tests. However, the visitors will be high on confidence following their recent 2-0 triumph in Sri Lanka.

Can England qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final?

England in a training session

After the postponement of Australia's tour to South Africa, New Zealand have confirmed their place in the ICC World Test Championship final. Hence, one team among India, England, and Australia are set to face the Kiwis at Lord's later this year.

However, England have their task cut out as they will need to win at least three of the four Tests against India to book their place in the final. On the other hand, even a 2-1 series win will do for the home team.

India qualify if...🇮🇳 2-0🇮🇳 2-1🇮🇳 3-0🇮🇳 3-1🇮🇳 4-0England qualify if...🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 3-0🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 3-1🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 4-0Australia qualify if...🇮🇳 1-0🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1-0🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 2-0🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 2-1🤝 0-0🤝 1-1🤝 2-2#WTC21

— ICC (@ICC) February 2, 2021