Headingley fights to retain place on Test map

It is not just England and India players on trial during this week's crucial third Test match in Leeds, but the famous old ground itself. Headingley may have presented English cricket with many of its most memorable days – Don Bradman's 309 runs in a day in 1930, Ian Botham and Bob Willis (who scored 149 and took 8 for 43 respectively to beat Australia in 1981), and Mark Butcher, who smashed a brilliant unbeaten 173 last year to beat the same opposition – but these have not stopped it being put under pressure to retain its status as a Test match ground.

The emergence of attractive new arenas in Durham and Hampshire have given the England and Wales Cricket Board the choice of where it allocates future Tests and, with recent attendances at Headingley being poor and the ground in need of investment, influential minds have started to look elsewhere.

Realising this, Yorkshire have spent more than £10m developing the facilities at England's most northerly Test venue and yesterday saw the impressive new East Stand opened. Doing the honours and present in the same room for the first time since 1968 – like many Yorkshireman they tend not to get on – were four legends of Yorkshire cricket: Fred Trueman, Geoff Boycott, Raymond Illingworth and Brian Close.

While they may not agree on much,they are united on Headingley's Test status. "It should be an automatic Test venue. Yorkshire is the biggest cricket playing county in the country and when this ground is finished it will be as good as any in England" Illingworth said.

Boycott, who scored his 100th hundred here in 1977, spoke just as passionately, saying: "History says that this is the best result ground in the country and that has to be good for the game. The crowd are hard but they know their cricket. Players like playing here."

Nasser Hussain agrees. "I, personally, and the team enjoy playing here and I can't believe there is talk of taking Test cricket away from Headingley. It is a great place to play cricket," the England captain added.

England and Hussain have have some tricky decisions to make before the start of play this morning. The first is whether to risk playing Andrew Flintoff.

The Lancashire all-rounder is delaying a double hernia operation in an attempt to win this series for England here at Headingley. Aware of the risk, Hussain said: "Andrew's groin is the worst it has been all summer and if he plays I will have to look after him by bowling him only 10 overs in the day. How much he can do though does affect the balance of the side."

If this is the case, and even though his value to the side is huge, Flintoff should not play. It is wrong to go into a Test match with such doubts over fitness. With Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Caddick sure to play it then becomes a matter of gut feelings and conditions this morning for Hussain and his selectors.

Having missed Ashley Giles at Trent Bridge, Hussain is keen to pick a spinner, even if England's have taken only five wickets in the last 12 Test matches here. Yes, England have only played a spinner four times in that period but the fact that Shane Warne has only taken three wickets in Leeds in his three Tests tells you this is not a ground for slow bowlers. Along with Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, who took five wickets on his debut, looks the other casualty.

After an encouraging batting display in the last Test, India face similar problems over the balance of their side. Needing to take 20 wickets to get back in the series, India's two best bowlers are their spinners. Anil Kumble returns after a calf strain and he should line up with Harbhajan Singh even if the pitch, which looks good with a bit of moisture in it, favours the quick men.

Making way for Kumble is likely to be Asish Nehra, who has struggled so far in England, as has Wasim Jaffer, who could well make way for the all-round capabilities of Sanjay Bangar.

Such endless possibilities add to the occasion at Headingley. It is a ground where no one is sure quite what to do. For the future of this ground, it is hoped the spectators do. Matches here are seldom dull.

England (probable): N Hussain (capt), M P Vaughan, R W T Key, M A Butcher, J P Crawley, A J Stewart (wkt), A J Tudor, D G Cork, A F Giles, A R Caddick, M J Hoggard.

India (probable): S C Ganguly (capt), V Sehwag, S Bangar, R S Dravid, S Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, A B Agarkar, P A Patel (wkt), Harbhajan Singh, A Kumble, Zaheer Khan.