Just like the last 3 Tests, the one-dayers are proving to be no contest. The 3rd Test was still exciting as it turned the series around after India's victory at Lord's. The win was needed for England to prove they are still one of the best in Tests. Only in Tests. Tests are important for the British, so much that they play with the same attitude in One-Day.

India tour of England has hardly been exciting this time around. There is no competition. You get no brownie points for guessing who will win. If the Indian cricket team was left bare for the world to see, the same is happening with the English team. This is nothing new for them though. They give so much adulation to their Test batsmen that they make up for an unquestionable part of the one day team as well. Since the ousting of the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen, England haven't found a replacement for him yet. Or to say it right, they didn't even think that they need someone to replace him. Alex Hales has just now been given a chance but what can one man do? We have still got captain Alastair Cook in the team, who scored 19 off 33 in the 2nd one day and 44 off 65 in the 3rd. He not only bats at a meagre strike rate for a batsman, he is also the opener and the captain. We must not forget that it's his coming back into form that changed the course of the Test series.

In One-Day, it matters a great deal how you start the innings and also, the captain leads from the front and Alastair Cook definitely doesn't set a good example for his team to follow. If you start out slow, you lose a few wickets and thus the rest of the batsmen naturally feel under pressure. I'm sure Alastair Cook never tells his batsmen to go bang bang. I don't think England can ever dream of being a good one-day team with their old style strategies.

Let's compare England to other teams. Australia's highest ever total in One-Day is 434 vs South Africa and all of their top 12 totals are 350 or over. England's highest total is 391 vs Bangladesh followed by 363 vs Pakistan and their 10th highest total is 327. Compare this to India, who have scored over 400 four times and whose 10th highest total is 373. South Africa too has all of their top 12 totals over 350 and has scored 400 twice. I'm sure England doesn't realise you need massive totals to win one-day games in this day and age. Instead of bringing in swashbuckling batsmen, which are available in their Counties, England has a policy to play all-rounders and have depth in batting. So they have depth, this should enable them to reach 350, shouldn't it? What was Woakes doing coming in at 149/6? Couldn't he take England to a competitive total at least? Hasn't Alastair Cook got batsmen that he relies on all-rounders who would do both jobs? Hasn't England got better bowlers than Jordan, who was also made to play the last 3 Tests?

England tour of India continues to be exciting. The teams were evenly matched on Day 1 of the 2nd Test as the English ripped 6 wickets as India put on 260 odd runs. England were ahead for most of the day as the 6th wicket fell at 169. Pujara, who scored 206* and 41* in the 1st Test, is batting on 114 and Ashwin on 60. The umpiring was disappointing in the 1st Test and today as well. Pujara was out on 94, caught off Swann. The ball first hit Cook's toe, standing at slip and then was caught by another fielder. After checking it out from only one angle, which was clearly inconclusive, the 3rd umpire ruled that he's not out. India is the only team who doesn't use Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), which is pathetic. The lack of use of technology is apparent in this series. It seems as though the BCCI are reluctant to spend on it, despite being the richest cricket board. No wonder they are the richest. It happens with every team that wrong decisions are given against them, but England seems to be the one most affected. That's because these decisions prove to be pivotal, by coincidence or perhaps because it demoralises England more than other teams. Whatever the case may be, England are a happier bunch with the review system active. It doesn't seem right that a rule is applied in all matches except India's matches. If a rule has been passed by ICC, it must be applied to all International matches. And then, not viewers would have known about this at the start of this series.

Monty Panesar made an impressive comeback, by taking 4 wickets, as predicted by Shane Warne. It was his day. England must be regretting their decision not to play him in the 1st Test, but they should be happy they chose him sooner rather than later. Though Steven Finn is still injured so it was an easy decision. Playing Tim Bresnan in the 1st Test definitely didn't make sense. Monty couldn't have done worse. It's worth the risk to try spinners in India. Why Samit Patel is playing is beyond my ability to comprehend though. He doesn't ever look confident enough to take a wicket in Tests. Plus, he has had more success with the bat than bowl and he doesn't have the making of a Test batsman either. Johny Bairstow replaced Ian Bell, who has gone home to witness the birth of his child. It will be interesting to see how Bairstow, who is playing his 5th Test, bats and if England will omit Patel to keep both Bairstow and Bell in the team in case Bairstow succeeds in impressing.

India are ahead of England at the moment, given India won the toss again and will make England bat last and how the pitch has played so far and their quota of spinners but if England can wrap up the 1st Indian innings early, they'll have a chance to take lead. The English batsmen must come to the party this time as captain Cook, deserves a better chance to win than the hard fought two men against eleven battle in the 1st Test.

England is no stranger to failures, but there is something different this time. They have the memories of lifting the trophy in the Caribbean a couple years ago. So, what if the captain has changed? So, what if Man of the Tournament Kevin Pietersen is nowhere to be seen, except for the studio of ESPN? So, what if Yardy has succumbed to depression? They still got Stuart Broad, this time as captain. Swann, Morgan & Kieswetter too. Finn, if not Sidebottom.

Johny Bairstow looks like a mythical mystical character, like he could beat anyone for the role of prince charming in the TV series Once Upon a Time. Wait, is there something wrong in talking about the looks of a cricketer? Not in the first year, but definitely in a World Cup. When both strike together, you know there is something wrong.

Standing tall: Captain Broad never hides his face.

It's obvious there are too many new players in the English side. Bairstow is merely 23, 4 Tests, 7 ODIs and 13 Twenty20s old. Jos Buttler is 22, has played only one ODI and 14 Twenty20s. Alex Hales is 23, 10 Twenty20s old. And although Kieswetter and Wright have played far more matches than these, they are not reliable or regular. Am not saying fresh energy is bad, it's just that it needs to be balanced out with consistency. England have dug themselves a hole by not taking any experienced batsman like Trott, Bell, KP or Cook with them. But, all is not lost. Winning both of their warm-ups didn't help, but losing to India and West Indies should be enough to provide a wake-up call. A change in tactics and mindset can still take them to the semi-finals. Lumb, in place of Kieswetter and Morgan at No.3 can definitely give the batting line-up a boost. Throw the gloves to Bairstow, Butler or Hales. They are all wicketkeepers for their counties, the latter only an occasional one though.

Jade Dernbach is proving to be too expensive. And England have kept Briggs out in favour of Samit Patel. It would be better to give all 3 spinners a shot. England is a team who is known for it's lack of spinners. But, times have changed. Like other teams are doing, England could make spin a weapon in Asia.

England are next up against New Zealand on September 29 at 10:00 GMT (15:30 local). This game will be played at Pallekele and not Colombo (where England were bowled out for 80 by India) so they should be able to walk past this. A tougher challenge will be posed by home team Sri Lanka, though still at Pallekele. History tells us home teams have not gone beyond quarters in the Twenty20 World Cup, but Sri Lanka is a stronger contender at home. England's run in this Cup was always going to be unpredictable with promising but inexperienced players, so I'll be disappointed if they don't throw any more surprises our way.

With the retirement of Andrew Strauss comes a great opportunity for new England captain, Alastair Cook.

The left-hander now rules both Test and one-day squads and is set for a gruelling next couple of years, as England restructure their squads after a period of world dominance.

Cook’s first job is to prepare England for a tough tour of India, where he will walk out to the crease with a new partner. Until November, the captain will have a serious problem reeling through the back of his mind: who will replace Strauss at the top of the Test order?

With Strauss now gone from the Test squad, England suddenly look quite lightweight at the crease.

Cook was magnificent against Australia in the last Ashes series and has proven himself as a reliable starter, yet he has been gifted the chance to learn the art of opening a Test innings alongside one of England’s greatest ever captains.

Now, without Strauss, Cook must lead the line and bring in a partner up top. Calls for Ian Bell or Jonathan Trott to ascend the batting order have been voiced by many people, but these two have cemented good form lower down, and it would be unwise to dislodge them from a position they feel comfortable in.

Cook may therefore look to one of Yorkshire’s two lighting batters, Jonny Bairstow or Joe Root. Bairstow has proven hit mettle in one-dayers and hit a magnificent 95 in the first Test innings against South Africa at Lord’s, but was playing at a comfortable sixth man.

A step up could unsettle the Yorkshireman, however, and therefore Cook may opt for Root, who has a 40.57 first class average.

Root has done well at Headingley this season and continues to show good form with the bat. Although India would be a baptism of fire for the 21-year-old to make his Test debut, Cook’s experienced presence may well see him develop into another great England opener.

More..

• Cook targets 50-over success
• Unbeatable Cook leads England fightback on Day 4
• England demolish World No.1 India by 319 runs
• Another ton by Alastair Cook puts England on top!
• England continues to reign Down Under

Hello there, it's right after the Ireland game. It's that time when the cricketing fraternity is soaked in a pool of thrill. It couldn't ask for more cricket. Since England began their campaign, it has kept media, experts and everyone else puzzled. Before the India-England tie, Bangladesh could advance to the quarters by beating West Indies or England, according to Indian newspapers. It was the highly anticipated game and did it live up to the expectations? Well, it couldn't have been better.

An Indian fan with the name of England's new opener painted on his arms

India vs England 
Scoring 338 gave India an edge. Sailing smoothly made England favourites. Everyone has been referring to Zaheer Khan's 3 wickets as the turning point. But in reality, the 42nd over, in which England only managed 2 runs, turned it all around. The wickets were just the presentation of it. Before it all happened, I thought they need not take the powerplay as opposed to what Sunil Gavaskar suggested. Wickets have been lost a lot of times in the batting powerplay. You just don't need to change anything when everything is going your way. It's not only that the struggling 42nd over prompted England to take the powerplay. It was more like England scored only 2 runs because they were going to take the powerplay. Anyways, it was an even battle and losing for any team, wouldn't have been anything less than humiliation. But now, England shall be more satisfied. Why? Because they didn't let India defend 338, that too at home. And in the end, when it seemed like England's boat was sinking, it was the three 6s by Swann, Bresnan and Shahzad that turned a loss into a tie. That does give you a lift.
England vs Ireland
All 3 matches England has played so far, have been hard fought. The India one was the most thrilling and against Netherlands, though they gave a fight, England was never going to lose it. And today England's performance was disappointing and the result, shocking. From 111/5 in 24.2 overs, needing over 8 runs per over, Ireland came back to stun England. Every World Cup has it's fair share of upsets and this was one of it.