There's never been as much expectation from the ageing Indian middle order as before the start of the three-match Test series against England [Images], which gets underway at Lord's on Thursday.

England's bowling attack has been weakened a bit by the absence of strike bowler Steve Harmison and, possibly, Matthew Hoggard [Images], who is down with back spasms, also, and the Indian batsmen will be hoping to make hay.

England have no option but field an untested and relatively inexperienced bowling attack in Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett.

Rookies the aforesaid bowlers may be, but they certainly bring the unpredictability factor with them which the Indian batsmen need to guard against.

Quite often we have seen Indian batsmen struggle against bowlers they haven't faced before, and this is something they need to prepare for.

India no doubt start as favourites in the first Test, considering that their famed middle order should not have any major problems against the young England pace attack. Monty Panesar [Images] is in great form since making his international debut, but is unlikely to pose much of a problem.

But there is cause for concern in India's bowling, which hasn't looked in good shape. None of the bowlers were able to make an impression in the two tour matches, against Sussex and England Lions, and, as such, the batsmen will have to make up for the deficiency. At least one from the famed quartet of Sachin Tendulkar [Images], Sourav Ganguly [Images], Rahul Dravid [Images] and VVS Laxman will be expected to play a bring innings each time the team goes out to bat.

India could go in with four bowlers -- three pacers in Zaheer Khan [Images], R P Singh and S Sreesanth [Images] -- and veteran spinner Anil Kumble. Six batsmen plus Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] is the option the team would be seriously looking at after the repeated failures of the top order, particularly Wasim Jaffer.

The weather in London [Images] is not that great, and Londoners are not at all pleased that it is still a bit chilly though it's summer. There is also a rain threat looming over the first Test, and after rain over the last two days, there are chances that the weather could play a part in the match.

Sachin Tendulkar, in his fourth and, in all probability, final trip to Lord's would like to make it a memorable outing with a maiden century at the venue and etch his name on the 'Honours Boards'. His highest score at the ground is 31. After his smashing century in the last tour game, against England Lions, few will bet against him going past that score.

Dravid again holds the responsibility of batting in conditions favourable for seamers. As he has shown before, he thrives batting under such conditions, but needs support from the other end.

Jaffer failed to get going in the two tour matches, but will be preferred for the crucial first Test ahead of the relatively inexperienced Gautam Gambhir [Images].

Laxman may still get the nod ahead of Yuvraj Singh [Images], even though the left-hander played a fine innings of 59 in the last tour match.

Sourav Ganguly will be looking to carry on his recent good form, which has seen him emerge as the best batsman since forcing his way back into the side last year.

The pitch is expected to be good for batting, as Dravid opined on Wednesday.

"It looks like a good Lord's wicket. If the weather settles down, hopefully, it should turn out to be a good batting wicket," the Indian captain said.

The last time India played at Lord's, in 2002, they lost by a huge margin of 170 runs. India's record at Lord's is also poor -- just one victory in 14 matches. But, with a weakened bowling attack to square up against, an experienced batting line-up at their disposal and the motivation of four of their stalwarts shining in probably their last appearance at the historic ground, they look good to make a winning start.