Cook recognises spin deficiencies

Cricket365
August 31, 2014

Captain Alastair Cook conceded England were characteristically undone by India's spin bowlers, after slumping to a six-wicket defeat in Saturday's third ODI at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The hosts slipped to a modest 227 all out in the wake of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's telling three-wicket haul – and a dismissal each for part-time slow bowler Suresh Raina and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

The tourists later triumphed with all of seven overs to spare, as Rayudu led the charge with a patient 64 not out – and Raina and opener Ajinkya Rahane contributed a complementary 42 an 45 respectively.

"I don't think anyone who looked at that wicket this morning thought it was going to turn as much as that. It must have just been the tackiness. But no, we didn't play the spin very well," said Cook.

"Obviously, we didn't in Cardiff either. But they bowled well, and did turn it. Ashwin and Jadeja are very good at limited-overs cricket spin bowling. We had a few soft dismissals, and a few good balls as well."

The English have copped plenty of criticism for an arguably pedestrian approach at the top of the order in ODI cricket. While the selection of the hard-hitting Alex Hales has quietened some doubters, regular insistence that the remainder of the specialist batsmen to score at a quicker rate remains.

"Someone told us we didn't score boundaries from the 18th to 40-odd overs, but if you keep losing wickets every five or six overs, it's very hard to play aggressively," added Cook.

"Boundaries come when you start laying platforms, because naturally you're both more in, and can push the game on. But when you keep losing wickets – and there were some soft ones there – it keeps putting you back, and 230 wasn't enough.

"You have to lay the platform in the right way, and I don't think you can moan about the way we did that in the first 10 overs. But what you can moan about is us getting out for 40s."

The fourth ODI will get underway in Edgbaston on Tuesday. Headingley in Leeds will host the fifth and final ODI 72 hours later. A one-off Twenty20 International in Birmingham will follow.