England have won the toss in the third Test against India and put the tourists in to bat at Edgbaston.
Andrew Strauss's side are currently leading the four-game series 2-0 after wins at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
England will become the world's number one Test team if they win either this week's test in Birmingham or the final meeting at the Brit Oval.
There had been fears that the game would not go ahead after riots in Birmingham city centre, but captain Andrew Strauss yesterday confirmed that the game was likely to go ahead.
England have replaced injured Jonathan Trott with Ravi Bopara, while Tim Bresnan retained his place ahead of Chris Tremlett as the Surrey paceman is still out with a hamstring problem.