Ask Nasser: Do you think The Hundred will be a success?

How do you see the India Test series going?

Ben Grace, Haywards Heath

Many think India are favourites – despite them losing to New Zealand at Southampton – but I think it will be a lot tighter than people think. England’s series record at home is fantastic. They seem to have infinite seam-bowling resources – Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer (if fit), Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood and Ben Stokes; and although techniques at the top of the order have been questioned, those of Joe Root, Stokes, Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope are sound.

The key will be making a total that keeps them in the game in the first innings. New Zealand made just enough (249) to help them win the final. India have a few selection issues. Shubman Gill is out of the series. Can they afford to play both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja? And how impactful will Rishabh Pant be at No.6 if the ball is moving about? So I’d have England as favourites. 

Will Ollie Robinson be in the England team for the first Test – who else would you pick?

Dave Bowman, Minehead

Yes, he has served his time. Everyone makes mistakes. He’s a very good cricketer, as he showed with his bowling at Lord’s. He batted well too. He will be vying with Woakes for the No.8 slot. I don’t think that they will break up Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, so they will need to work out what they are going to do with Zak Crawley. I’d keep an eye on Dawid Malan. He did well in Australia last time, so he’s experienced, and organised.

Who will win The Hundred and do you think it will be a success?

Gordon Hales, Haverfordwest

Southern Brave appear to have the strongest side, with a fearsome fast-bowling attack that includes Archer, Tymal Mills, George Garton and Chris Jordan. They have lost David Warner and Marcus Stoinis but replaced well, with Quinton de Kock and Devon Conway, two very good players. It’s not all about what looks good on paper, though. Royal Challengers Bangalore look the best side in the Indian Premier League, but Mumbai Indians have overcome them because of that great team culture that they have created. The IPL wasn’t a success straightaway – it needed an ageing Shane Warne to give it stardust. So everyone needs to give The Hundred time. 

Do cricket and the government have to come together to discuss the ‘close contact’ situation? If not, is The Hundred not asking for trouble?

Nicholas Buddy, Golders Green

We have to go with what science and what the government tells us. Cricket can’t be given a free-for-all pass. Going back to the bubble doesn’t appear to be viable. You can see what has happened now that they have opened it up a bit – with the England ODI team being affected, and Derbyshire v Essex match being called off. We’ll have to see what happens on August 16, but people’s health is more important than anything else.  

What have been the plus points from England Women v India?

Dave Bowman, Minehead

I saw the entire Test, and it was incredibly watchable. There were doubts about the Bristol pitch, but it played fine. There was the impressive batting of Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Anya Shrubsole, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma, and the bowling of Sophie Ecclestone. The one-dayers were also brilliant. I have had my concerns about the overall standard of fielding in the women’s game, with only Lydia Greenway, or the Australians, really excelling consistently, but it appears to be improving, and of course there were those catches from Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur.

Why do you think India (men) have made mistakes in the semi-finals or finals of every ICC tournament since 2014?

Shalini Majumdar, via email

I think you have to applaud them for getting to the latter stages so consistently, albeit they are absolute giants of the game. With the last World Cup they seemed to lack a Plan B. In the semi-final they expected to get 350 to 400, but actually it was a 240 pitch. I’m not sure that they selected well in the middle order, although their recent selections have improved.

Many talk about how England should start basing their Test cricket on New Zealand but not Australia. Why can’t they come up with their own way of going about it? It worked for one-day cricket. 

Dan Pugsley, Devon

Sometimes when you are in a rut you have to look at other set-ups for inspiration. New Zealand did five or six years ago. They made changes, like improving pitches, that didn’t have an immediate impact, but have now. They picked players with good techniques and bowlers who could take wickets on flat pitches. Actually Eoin Morgan did look at New Zealand anyway. He spoke to Brendon McCullum and watched what the Blackcaps were doing, with fearless batting and so on. We do need to improve our pitches, albeit that will be hindered by the weather. It’s not good enough having surfaces where a load of dobbers can rock up and take wickets… and I see the scores are low again now.

This article was published in the August edition of The Cricketer - the home of the best cricket analysis and commentary, covering the international, county, women's and amateur game