Alastair Cook: We will be outplayed in all departments

England captain Alastair Cook accredited India for their comprehensive 126-run win and said the home team totally outplayed the company in the first ODI on Friday.

After redistribution a challenging 300 for seven, India shot out England for 174 runs in 36.1 over’s to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

"It was a significant toss to win. We say at the end that the ball reserved low. But credit to India. They outplayed us in all department today (Friday)," Cook said after the match.

"We're leaving to learn from this, and that's the attractiveness of a five-match series." India's latest spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (3/35) and Ravindra Jadeja sizzle in the slow conditions, allocation six wickets between them and Cook said tackle the tweakers will be a challenge for his batsmen in the series.

"We know that (playing spin) is a problem, and that's a skill thing. We're going to work hard on that in the next join of days," he said.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who score an winning 87 off 70 balls to earn the man-of-the-match honor, said it was not easy to bat on the slow Uppal wicket and to add to it ICC's new rule of two new balls from together ends also made life a little "tricky" for batsmen.

"The new system made the batting a bit tricky. We batted well, although we lost a few wickets at the wrong time. On wickets like these, if you're batting in the afternoon it can be a bit slow, and at times you have to keep your head down and stay alive," he said.

"If you don't create too many runs at first, that's ok since you can make up for it later. I think most of us were look for a score of about 250 or so, 260 would've been a good score," Dhoni added.

The India skipper said expect dew to play a big role he went with three seamers and two spinners.

"We were a bit tentative about the dew, and there was a fair quantity the last few nights, so that's why we played three steamers and two spinners," Dhoni logical. "There was no dew tonight, but if there had been it would have been easier for the batsmen."

He also lauded Ravindra and young Umesh Yadav (2-32) for their fine show. "Ravindra) Jadeja has better his game a lot, and it was good to see Yadav come in and bowl fast," Dhoni added.

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Graeme Swann: Alastair Cook stumbles and stammers

England spinner Graeme Swann has praise the leadership skills of Alastair Cook but admit the one-day captain struggle to give team talks.

Opening batsman Cook takes over as 50-over captain last year and led England to a series victory at home to Sri Lanka, being named player of the series in the progression.

While Cook has full-grown into the role, Swann has exposed his rhetoric skills leave something to be preferred.

In his memoirs The Breaks Are Off, serialized in The Sun, Swann said: "Alastair Cook is a close mate and phoned me to ask whether I consideration he should take on the England one-day captaincy.

"I told him, yes, of course he should. I consideration he was more than good sufficient to re-invent him as a one-day batsman - just like Andrew Strauss did - and it would make him a shoo-in for the Test captaincy when Strauss takes a seat in the House of Lords.

"He was reasonably nervous for his maiden series as representative captain next to Sri Lanka last summer but his leadership was outstanding - apart from team talks.

"He stumbles and stammers a lot and is well-known for starting one ruling and jumping into another before he has finished.

"I gape at the floor in a bid not to express amusement."

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Stewart: Clean sweep up on the cards

Alec Stewart won't be astonished if the home team records a clean sweep over India in the ongoing ODI series.

"India may have begin the series as slight favorites but I wouldn't be astonished if England finish off the season with a clean sweep in all forms of the game and add this award to the growing collection," Stewart said.

In the first ODI of the five-match series last weekend, India were in the driver’s seat with England, chasing a competitive 275-run target, were totter at 27 for two before heavy showers required the match to be called off.

But Stewart was of the view that the weather conditions intervene far too early during England's innings for serious talk about the hosts being 'saved by the rain'.

"This England side has it in them to go up again after such early reverse," he said.

"After the 4-0 thrashing of India in the Test series followed by the one-off T20 victory last week, England will want to show they are also making good development in the 50-over game which for so long has be their Achilles heel," the former wicket-keeper added.

Stewart, however, has no misgivings that to record a clean sweep, England will have to play out of their skin against the the world champion Indian side.

"As England march on towards world cricket preeminence they will be severely tested by India, the current World Cup holders, all through these One Day Internationals," he wrote in his column for 'Daily Mirror'.

He insisted that having never won the World Cup, England will be desperate to break the jinx in the 2015 edition of the tournament to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

"Captain Alastair Cook is fully aware that if these groups of players want to be bracketed alongside the truly great West Indian and Australian teams of recent times then they must become more reliable in ODIs and learn what it takes to win in all conditions," Stewart said.

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Hayden inspired by 'dominant' Bell

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has paid rich compliment to Ian Bell, saying that the England batsman was now ruling Test cricket. Bell struck 235, his best in Tests, in the final Test at The Oval.

It was his fifth Test hundred this year. The feat saw him restore Alastair Cook as the most important Test run-scorer in 2011 - Bell now has 950 runs to Cook's 927 and England's Kevin Pietersen is third with 731.

Hayden, a cruelly effective run-scorer, was a key member of the Australia side that led the way in Test cricket in the 1990s and 2000s.

But he has been frightened by the performance of England, who have become the world's leading Test side since defeat Australia 3-1 in an Ashes series earlier this year, in general and Bell in particular.

"Ian Bell has always been a very technically sound player and he's now dominate Test cricket simply because theoretically he's sound, mentally he's grown up, his physical attribute are very good and he's relish the hard work," Hayden told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme on Sunday.

Hayden, talking after the magazine of the Argus report into the state of Australian cricket, also highlighted consistency of selection - something England was once infamous for lacking and which has been a trouble for recent Australia sides - as a key reason behind the rise of Andrew Strauss's team.

"In my career there was a lot of discrepancy (in the England team), both in performances and also selection," he said.

"There were so many players coming in and out of the side it was really a turnstile into the English covering room, but now it's very different," Hayden added.

Meanwhile, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive David Collier downplayed suggestions powerful England coach Andy Flower could be misplaced to another country.

The Zimbabwean has played a key role behind the scenes during England's scale to the top of the ICC Test Championship table since captivating over from Peter Moores two years ago.

Flower rejected a move toward from India before they chosen his compatriot Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, and Collier said: "I think Andy made his position very clear when the Indian state of affairs happened.

"I think he is very established in England and long may that continue. I think the whole of the backroom team is very important.

"We've residential a structure over five to 10 years now that has not only deliver plans but has leapfrogged countries in the world and we want to keep that team together."

England currently leads their series with India 3-0. If they win at The Oval, it will be the first time England have triumph 4-0 in a four-Test series since whitewashing the West Indies in 2004.

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Rain prevent England build on hard start

England 75 for 0 (Strauss 38*, Cook 34*) v India

Given the way England have conquered this series it wouldn't be difficult to suggest that the only thing that will stop them accomplishment a whitewash is the weather. Rain wiped out play after lunch on the opening day at The Oval, but during the two hours possible Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook formed a solid platform against a very unsatisfactory India assault as England reached 75 without loss.

This was as weakly as India had bowled all series as they wasted whatever helps was on offer under cloudy skies. There was barely a chance shaped during the session and the whole approach portray by the visitors was of a team low on self-assurance and waiting for the series to finish. Defeat here will leave them third in the world rankings but it's difficult to see them preventive England's in-form batting line-up with a better forecast for Friday.

RP Singh, on his go back to the Test team after a three-year nonappearance for the injured Praveen Kumar, didn't set a good tone with his opening over. The first ball was sprayed down the leg side and the batsmen were offered some gentle leg-stump delivery to open their accounts. He was also about the same pace as Praveen, but with less swing, which wasn't completely astonishing considering he hadn't played first-class cricket since January.

Even though a couple of early boundaries came to third man they were played with soft hands by Strauss and Cook. There was a disturbing lack of strength from India, both with the ball and in the field, as they failed to make any use of the cloudy conditions. Sreesanth's first spell was poor with too many deliveries on leg stump which ensure the scoreboard kept ticking over with Cook, for the time being at least, taking his average over 50.

India showed somewhat more energy during the second hour - though all is relative - and Strauss had his most painful moment when he was strike on the helmet by an Ishant Sharma bouncer that took a chunk out of the lid. From that moment Strauss was more unwilling to get forward, but was still able to play a good-looking off drive against Sreesanth.

Ishant remain the pick of the three quicks, inquiring away outside off and finding a touch of worrying bounce, but there were few alarms for the openers. Even with two left-handers at the crease it was a surprise when Suresh Raina's part-time offspin was used ahead of Amit Mishra who detached Strauss at Edgbaston.

Earlier, James Anderson had been approved fit to take his place in the England side as they remain unmovable. A thigh grumble had created doubts about his fitness, but he came through a net on Wednesday so Graham Onions or Steven Finn, who left to play for Middlesex next to Kent, were not necessary. On the proof of the first session, and with the impact of the weather, Anderson might not be wanted until well into the weekend.

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Fletcher mourn loss of Zaheer

India coach Duncan Fletcher feel the wound to pacer Zaheer Khan cost India the opportunity of "having a very good day" in the opening Test against England at Lord's.

Khan was easily India's best bowler at Lord's on Thursday before he went to hospital for a scan on his left leg. He took both wickets as England reached 127/2 before rain ensured just over half the listed 90 overs were bowled on the first day.

"He showed he's almost certainly the bowler we miss the most," Fletcher said. "Probably, the others lacked experience. He going off was a big miss. From our point of view, I think maybe we would have been happy with three wickets. I think if he had stayed there and got three or four, we would have broken up having a very good day."

Before limping off the field halfway through the 42nd over, Khan proved penetrating and miserly, footage figures of 2-18.

He trapped Alastair Cook lbw in the morning session and then dupe England captain Andrew Strauss into a skin complaint pull that was caught by Ishant Sharma at fine leg shortly after lunch.

"He's almost certainly the one that could have got us three or four wickets, so he was quite a loss at that stage," Fletcher said.

India's other bowlers proved notably less threatening, however, and while Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh were perhaps unlucky not to claim wickets, Sharma was inconsistent and failed to pressurise batsmen.

Fletcher argues they still bowled rationally well.

"It was hard for our bowlers to get used to the swing," he said. "I still think we bowled pretty well, but they need to get their lines right."

England's Jonathan Trott lived dangerously on his way to 58 not out. Having been drop by Dravid at first slip off Harbhajan, he then edged a delivery from Khan between wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dravid.

He said: "I think they were two very hard chances," Fletcher said. "I think on another day one might have been taken, but they were very hard chances and we've seen that happen at Lord's on numerous occasions."

He also protected his players against suggestion they lacked intensity in the field.

"Not at all. I consideration those players were really up for the game," he said. "They wanted to play at Lord's and give it their best shot. Those players have just had three hard Test matches in the West Indies.

"It's not just a question of coming over here and getting used to the conditions. We've seen players play a whole Test series and move violently in the field," said Fletcher.

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