England are likely to make at least one change in personnel and possibly more in the batting order on Thursday in the third ODI against India in Kanpur.

They have erred in omitting Graeme Swann and over-estimating the danger of Samit Patel, who has greater potential as a batting allrounder than a frontline spinner. James Anderson has been largely ineffective on pitches offering no seam movement and conditions have not helped swing. Stephen Harmison has also struggled to impose himself.

The biggest concern on the batting front lies in the relatively sedate approach to the early overs. All of India’s top four have faster scoring-rates this year than Kevin Pietersen, England’s most explosive hitter.

In part these statistics reflect the fact that England play on seaming pitches in the summer where more vigilance is required. But the approach of Ian Bell and others can certainly be more aggressive on this tour.