England are on course to field their fantastic four in the opening Test after Simon Jones came through the opening tour game unscathed.

Although Indian conditions traditionally suit spin and will undoubtedly aid the home attack, it would be a surprise if England did not utilise their own strengths and employ the quartet of quicks at Nagpur next Wednesday.

Especially as Jones, 27, has shown what the tourists missed in Pakistan when he was recovering from ankle surgery.

The five-over burst with the new ball contained glimpses of the old venom, coming as it did at near maximum capacity.

''I was not far off full,'' reflected Jones, on his second-innings spell in the 238-run victory over the Cricket Club of India. ''It was my first run-out for a while and it went as well as I could have hoped."

Jones' approach to the crease in the first innings at the Brabourne Stadium had been no more than a trot, a precautionary measure after six months on the sidelines.

India's former Yorkshire batsman Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring injury. Yuvraj, named man of the series in India's 4-1 one-day thrashing of Pakistan last week, incurred the problem in hitting an unbeaten hundred in the fifth and final encounter.

India's chairman of selectors Kiran More said: ''Yuvraj is definitely out of the first Test but we are confident that is the only match he will miss. It is not big damage."