Derek Pringle: England will become No 1, but will country care?

Just as Andrew Strauss's team move to within a single win of the biggest achievement by an England team since Martin Johnson hoisted the Rugby World Cup in 2003, the country has its attention diverted by the uglier scenes being played out in its Test match cities.

Assuming the match begins on time at 11am, England can become the No 1 Test team in the world if they beat India at Edgbaston. But will the country care? The carnage being played out on city streets, some a six hit away from this match, has made sport seem trivial and inconsequential.

There is a school of thought, one adhered to by Strauss, that Test cricket can offer a sanctuary away from the disorder. After all, the legendary 1981 Ashes series was played out against a backdrop of rioting, while the 2005 Ashes triumph was achieved in the aftermath of the London bombings.

"This is an opportunity for cricket to put a feelgood factor into the newspapers and that not everything is bad out there at present," Strauss said yesterday. "Let's divorce the cricket match from what's going on. It's clearly not our proudest hour as a country at the moment."

Cricket cannot operate in a social vacuum, but it can provide a distraction. So far in this series, England have won the two Tests comfortably despite starting, and then recovering, from perilous positions after losing the toss in seamer-friendly conditions. The Edgbaston pitch looks to be similarly tempting for the pace bowlers, being green-tinged enough for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to drop a strong hint that India, in a virtually unprecedented move for a country with such a proud spin heritage, could play four pace bowlers. If that transpires, any spinning duties will be left to bit-part tweakers such as Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag, though Raina may be replaced by Virat Kohli, an aggressive right-handed batsman.

The pitch is certainly causing England consternation. Last week's rain means it does not have the pace and carry team director Andy Flower wants for his bowlers. He and Ashley Giles, a selector as well as Warwickshire's director of cricket, spent 20 minutes bouncing balls into the surface and discussing with Steve Rouse, the groundsman, what they might do if they win the toss. This is Rouse's last Test pitch before he retires and, by the look of the body language, England will have to make do.

Sehwag's inclusion is a risk following his recent arrival, following a shoulder operation. His minimal preparation is a gamble worth taking though for he is such a destructive player that he could spark a revival. When England returned to play in India, following the Mumbai slayings, they looked favourites to win the Test in Chennai, or they did until Sehwag embarked on a savage assault that knocked the stuffing out of Kevin Pietersen's bowlers as India easily chased the 387 needed for victory.

India have not put together a coherent performance yet. Yesterday Dhoni admitted that it had been among the toughest tours he had known but India have let themselves down despite the injuries.

Dhoni has been playing non-stop for 12 months and while he made light of his workload, it has begun to affect his judgment. Why else would he allow, as has been reported, Sachin Tendulkar to talk him into reinstating Ian Bell, after the England's batsman's curious run-out at Trent Bridge? The Laws of cricket backed him and the spirit of cricket was not being bent, even if Dhoni's ear later was.

It seem unthinkable that he will not go into the match with specialist spinner Amit Mishra, but if he does play four seamers there is the risk he could be banned for a game or two, as he has already been warned for slow over-rates.

One of the reasons Munaf Patel has yet to feature in the series is that he takes too long to bowl an over. If they opt for an all-pace quartet, Munaf will have to play, unless they risk whisking RP Singh, due in from India this morning, into his whites.

Whatever team they face, England are on the brink of a great achievement. It is only 12 years since they propped up the rankings after losing at home to New Zealand. But while that saw captain Nasser Hussain roundly booed, a win here will see Strauss cheered from the new rafters by England's most patriotic home crowd.