The England cricket team may not have the kind of preparation Australia went through to conquer their 'final frontier' but they took some steps towards it.

The visitors, expecting flat tracks in India, asked the curator at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, to shave the grass from the practice wickets so that the could get a taste of things to come.

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England begin their tour with a practice game against the CCI President's XI from February 18 to 20, followed by a three-day warm-up match against the Board President's XI at Baroda from February 23 to 25.

The first Test will be played at Nagpur from March 1 to 5, followed by two Tests in Mohali and Mumbai.

The seven-match one-day series begins in the last week of March.