England put India in

Ravi Bopara was named in the England Test side for the first time in almost exactly two years as he took the place of the injured Jonathan Trott for the thrid Test against India.

The Essex man is expected to slip into the middle order with Ian Bell moving up to number three and Andrew Strauss will be hoping his side get to bat some time this evening after winning the toss and putting India in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions.

The tourists included Virender Sehwag, who missed the first two Tests recovering from shoulder surgery, and fit-again Gautam Gambhir as a restored opening partnership.

The tourists' seam attack was the same as in Nottingham, but leg-spinner Amit Mishra came in for the injured Harbhajan Singh.

There was an unmissable reminder of events still worryingly close to Edgbaston as Strauss and opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni strode out for the toss.

Both men spent much of Tuesday confirming the intention for this match to take place, despite the spread of rioting and looting from London to Birmingham and other major cities.

They promised then they would not allow countrywide public disorder to distract them from a fixture in which England will go top of the world Test rankings if they can beat India to establish a 3-0 lead in this four-match series.

Yet neither Strauss, Dhoni nor any of the thousands gathering for the first day of this near sell-out match could ignore a 100ft high pall of thick smoke behind the city end of the ground.

It was reportedly caused by a fire at a disused scrapyard in the Nechells area, around four miles away.