McGrath reckons England too set in their ways

Former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath has questioned England's lack of innovation ahead of a tough Test series against India.

Former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath has questioned England's lack of innovation ahead of a tough Test series against India.

The English have slumped to a five-nil series whitewash at the hands of the Aussies and a historic one-nil loss to Sri Lanka this year.

"England are fairly set in their ways. They seem to have plan A and then plan B is nearly non-existent – it's stand back and wait for the opposition to make a mistake," <i>cricket.com.au</i> quoted McGrath as saying.

"I think in this day and age you have to be a little bit more innovative and think on your feet a little bit more."

Captain Alastair Cook, meanwhile, is in the middle of a poor stretch of form. The left-hander has not scored a Test century in two dozen innings. His leadership, too, has been the subject of plenty of public criticism.

"I've always said, you replace a captain if he steps down or if there's someone better to replace him with. If there's no one that's going to do a better job, and he's happy to do it, then the captaincy should stay with him," added McGrath.