India vs England 2018: 5 things England must do to put an end to their Test woes

England has won just one of their last nine Test matches, losing six in the process. The tour of Australia and New Zealand was disastrous.

They lost five of the seven Test matches that they played while managing to draw the remaining two. It's not just that they lost, but it's the manner in which they lost.

In their 4-0 Ashes drubbing by Australia, they lost two matches by an innings and one by 10 wickets. In New Zealand too, the only Test they lost was by an innings.

When they toured India in 2016-17, two of their innings defeats came after scoring 400 plus in the first innings.

Big defeats are not good for team morale and this, in turn, affects their performances on the field. It also negatively impacted their ranking. England now lie in the fifth position and are in danger of being overtaken by Sri Lanka.

Some visible frailties have developed in their set up and with India touring next month, they will be anxious to get things in order.

---

#1 Change in their batting mindset

England's batting has been an area of concern

A change in the batting mindset is evident. England were lagging far behind in the shorter formats after a humiliating exit from the 2015 World Cup at the hands of Bangladesh.

In the three years since, there has been a complete overhaul. They brought in a new coach, a new captain and changed the way they approached the game. While they've arguably become the best ODI side in the world, it has come at a price.

They've tried to bring this attacking mindset to the test arena as well. In lieu of this, they selected offensive players like Alex Hales and Adam Lyth.

Although Lyth did manage a century against New Zealand, he was dropped after averaging just 20 in his seven Test matches. Hales didn't fare much better either.

Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes are two players whose natural instinct is also to be aggressive. In the five Test matches, Bairstow has played this year, he’s averaged a mere 28.22.

In 2017 as well, his numbers are bleak. While he averaged slightly higher at 34.31, he only managed one hundred.

I’m not suggesting for a moment, that England need to drop these players and change their whole squad. However, they need to approach their innings a bit better.

England's batsmen seem to have forgotten the importance of being patient out in the middle. Poor shot making in reasonable batting conditions has led to their downfall once too many times now.

#2 Joe Root's Conversion Woes

Root has been struggling to convert his starts into big scores

While Joe Root has established himself as one of the best batsmen in the world, his conversion rate has been a major worry.

In 5 Test matches against India in 2016-17, Root made five 50+ scores, however only one was a hundred. England went on to lose the series 4-0.

Coming to the 2017-18 Ashes where he had the added responsibility of being captain. In the five Test matches down under, he made five fifties, no hundreds and England ended up losing 4-0 again.

With a team that's so reliant on him, it’s simply not good enough, especially if you compare it with Kohli's or Smith’s performances. However, the other batsmen do need to step it up too.

#3 No sous-chef for Cook?

England are yet to find a perfect opening partner for Cook

Root’s conversion rate isn’t their only major woe. England continued to tinker with their opening combination in their recently concluded series with Pakistan.

Since the retirement of Andrew Strauss, Cook has had 12 different opening partners. Only one of those 12 managed to average over 35, and that was Root.

England has made a habit of picking batsmen with mediocre batting records in First Class cricket.

While the gamble has somewhat worked with Malan, it hasn’t at all with Stoneman. This has paved the way for the return of Keaton Jennings, who you might remember scored a 100 on debut in India.

#4 No support for Anderson and Broad

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been two of England's most consistent performers over the last decade or so. Despite the criticism, Anderson was one of the highest wicket-takers in the world in 2017. He took 55 wickets at an average of 17.58. In fact, before the start of the 2nd Test versus Pakistan, Anderson had taken 68 wickets in his last 15 matches at an average of 19.36. Broad, however, was far from his best. He did take 30 wickets in 11 matches in 2017. But a bowler of his class should be averaging better than 36. In the 5 Tests this year, he's already shown an improvement. He's taken 19 wickets at an average of 24.

With age catching up to them, this could possibly be their final home season and England are no closer to finding their replacement. Chris Woakes has been impressive as the third seamer, but injuries have prevented him from sealing his spot.

The problem lies beyond these three. England have tried a whole host of fast bowlers over the past few years. Steven Finn has been in and around the team for a while now, although he last played a Test in 2016. Solid domestic performances for Middlesex, which included his best figures of 8-79, did earn him an Ashes spot. Unfortunately for him, he was ruled out due to a knee injury.

Jake Ball was first called up to the England squad in 2016. But just 3 wickets in 4 Test matches soon saw him replaced. Toby Roland-Jones was then called up versus South Africa in 2017. A five-wicket haul on debut led to his inclusion in England's squad for the Ashes. However, injury ruled him out as well.

Mark Wood is another one of those bowlers who has had his struggles with injury. A stop and start career so far has cost him the consistency England so desperately crave. Despite a sub-par bowling average of 41.73, Wood was selected for the 1st Test versus Pakistan. But with just two wickets in the match, he was replaced by Woakes in the 2nd Test.

The one positive though has been the performance of Dominic Bess in his debut series. He asked a few questions to the Pakistani batsmen with his off-spin and made some handy contributions lower down the order.

#5 Where's the Passion?

The tame defeat to Pakistan at Lord’s was followed by a huge outrage on social media led by former captain Michael Vaughan.

While some questioned the passion of the team, others called for senior players like Stuart Broad to be dropped. England responded to the criticism in typical fashion. They dismantled Pakistan in the second Test with Broad leading the charge with the ball. This really only poses more questions. Why must it take a huge uproar for England to perform? Why must players’ positions be in jeopardy for them to give it their all? Is representing your country in the most prestigious format not motivating enough?

While England managed to put an end to their winless run, India will be licking their lips. India have been playing some good cricket for a while now and are deservedly ranked number one in the world. A closely contested series against South Africa showed that this young team is up for the fight.

Albeit they were comprehensively outplayed in their last two tours to England, this will be their best chance to beat them in a long time.