England captain Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan will lead England out at Lord's for the first npower Test against India knowing he now has extra pressure on him to succeed as captain.
The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman's authority as England's captain has never been questioned since he succeeded Nasser Hussain four years ago.
Since then he has successfully led England to a first Test series victory in West Indies and South Africa in decades and memorably reclaimed the Ashes in 2005.
But he is as much aware as anyone that now he has relinquished the captaincy of the one-day side he will be vulnerable to any loss of form or bad run of results - particularly if Paul Collingwood makes an impressive start as the one-day captain.
Both Vaughan and Collingwood insist the twin captaincy situation is one they can adapt to be successful in both forms of the game, but history would suggest otherwise.
Back in 2003, Hussain resigned as captain just one Test after Vaughan had successfully led the one-day side to success in the triangular tournament against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Similarly, in the early days of 1998, Michael Atherton dug his heels in and demanded to be one-day captain after feeling threatened by Adam Hollioake's success in the role during his absence.
Vaughan made the decision for all the right reasons - he has anticipated he would not be around for the next World Cup while the reduced workload will help his problematic right knee and boost his chances of leading England into the 2009 Ashes series.
But it will not help his cause if he suffers a loss of form similar to the one that has affected his one-day career or if England suddenly fail to respond to his leadership as was the case for Hussain four years ago.
"I know I said split captaincy probably wouldn't work but if it's going to work it's going to work with someone like me because I'm pretty chilled, I do it in a different manner to a lot of other people and I'm very committed to continuing as the Test captain as long as the team want me," stressed Vaughan.
"I don't have any worries about the decision I've made because I believe it's the right thing for the English game and for English cricket to move forward.
"I am committed to continuing as England's Test captain for as long as I can be successful in the role. I enjoy the job."
The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman's authority as England's captain has never been questioned since he succeeded Nasser Hussain four years ago.
Since then he has successfully led England to a first Test series victory in West Indies and South Africa in decades and memorably reclaimed the Ashes in 2005.
But he is as much aware as anyone that now he has relinquished the captaincy of the one-day side he will be vulnerable to any loss of form or bad run of results - particularly if Paul Collingwood makes an impressive start as the one-day captain.
Both Vaughan and Collingwood insist the twin captaincy situation is one they can adapt to be successful in both forms of the game, but history would suggest otherwise.
Back in 2003, Hussain resigned as captain just one Test after Vaughan had successfully led the one-day side to success in the triangular tournament against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Similarly, in the early days of 1998, Michael Atherton dug his heels in and demanded to be one-day captain after feeling threatened by Adam Hollioake's success in the role during his absence.
Vaughan made the decision for all the right reasons - he has anticipated he would not be around for the next World Cup while the reduced workload will help his problematic right knee and boost his chances of leading England into the 2009 Ashes series.
But it will not help his cause if he suffers a loss of form similar to the one that has affected his one-day career or if England suddenly fail to respond to his leadership as was the case for Hussain four years ago.
"I know I said split captaincy probably wouldn't work but if it's going to work it's going to work with someone like me because I'm pretty chilled, I do it in a different manner to a lot of other people and I'm very committed to continuing as the Test captain as long as the team want me," stressed Vaughan.
"I don't have any worries about the decision I've made because I believe it's the right thing for the English game and for English cricket to move forward.
"I am committed to continuing as England's Test captain for as long as I can be successful in the role. I enjoy the job."
India captain Rahul Dravid
Amid the exhilarating strokeplay offered by those around him in India's brilliant batting line-up, Rahul Dravid's contributions have often been overlooked.
Yet, it is hard to argue with statistics that boast more than 9,000 Test runs at an average of over 57 and more than 10,000 runs in 300-plus one-day internationals.
The calm assurance he has brought to the captain's role after the volatile tenure of Surav Ganguly has not necessarily led to a greater consistency in results but India's prospects are certainly in safer hands.
Dravid can always be relied upon to deliver with the bat, particularly if his team-mates struggle. Often has been the time when Dravid has come out to dig his side out of trouble or he has dug in to set up a large total.
But he does not only lead by example, he has proved himself as a smart thinker and capable skipper. His leadership is not only inspirational but cohesive.
He admits the job is not straightforward, with the Indian management taking flak for too much experimentation in the last year or so.
But Dravid has the temperament to take all of this in his stride and believes, with such a large player pool, the approach has been correct to find the best combination.
"As a captain, it's tough," he said. "You have to make tough decisions and explain to the boys why you've done so.
"No-one likes to be told they're dropped, but it's a fact of international cricket that's been going on since day one, and will go on much after I leave the captaincy.
"The management has experience, we senior players have experience, and we try to get the best combination. That's part of the game.
"Eleven guys can play in a team, and, as long as you can explain to someone what the reasons are, despite what anyone has to say, you're doing fine."
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