On a pitch described by one captain as "unusual" and by the other as "okay", team selection for both England and India looks a dicey proposition ahead of the second Test at Trent Bridge.

"It sounds hollow – I don't know what that means – there's a little bit of grass, and there's a few cracks as well," Nasser Hussain said after examining a pitch which is traditionally full of runs. "It's a very unusual looking Trent Bridge pitch - it looks a good toss to lose."

With Alex Tudor sent off to play for Surrey, England now have to pick two from three: Dominic Cork, Steve Harmison, and Ashley Giles, who is not the banker selection most people anticipated.

"It's going to be a difficult decision," Hussain said. "In the last few years it has swung around here, which brings Cork into the equation. It may also get uneven toward the end of the game, which brings Harmison into the equation. It might spin, it might not spin, so we really have to get our heads together."

India meanwhile are faced with the same dilemma that confronted them before the Lord's Test – only it has been further complicated because of Ajit Agarkar's century in the dying moments of the match.

Sourav Ganguly, who admitted that he probably should have played two spinners at Lord's, has given very little indication on the composition of the bowling line-up for this Test. Anil Kumble's calf niggle should sort itself out by tomorrow morning – when the final XI will be decided. Two from Harbhajan Singh, Kumble and Agarkar must play, and Harbhajan looks likeliest from the three.

Despite the crushing in the first Test, Ganguly said that as professional cricketers, "you win some, you lose some, and you just have to get ready for another Test."

Hussain, similarly, doesn't think that England have a mental edge as yet: "We're not yet good enough to have psychological hold over any side. I don't want to put too much pressure on this side – they are a young side. We need to stick to our disciplines, that's the only reason we won at Lord's."

The injury to Simon Jones should open the door for Steve Harmison, but Hussain doesn't want to get carried away by the prospect of a potentially even wilder young quick.

"We're not a good enough side to be able to pick people just to have a look at them," he said. Rather, Hussain has urged the England authorities to look into the massive amounts of cricket that he believes is causing injury to a number of young pacemen.

"We have young, raw pace, but they need rest and looking after. We need to look at why these young bowlers are getting injured. There's obviously a problem. I think they're bowling too much - it can't be good for the body."

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