Coach Fletcher calls for patience

Fletcher has called for patience as England wobble in India

England coach Duncan Fletcher says critics of his young one-day team must give them time to develop.

England are 3-0 down in the one-day series in India and facing the task of having to win all four games remaining.

"From our point of view it's been quite a difficult series," Fletcher told BBC Radio Five Live.

"People must be a little bit patient with this squad. On Monday, there were six changes from the side which played very successfully against Australia."

Fletcher stressed the absence of players like Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick was a big factor in the team's erratic form.

"It makes it more difficult for the younger players, who don't have that experience, to come in and perform," he said.

In the first two games we had them under a lot of pressure and they could have gone either way England coach Duncan Fletcher

"When you look at the Indian side there's quite a few players who have played over 100 games - we haven't got one player who's played 100 games.

"It shows you they are a very experienced side."

England went down by 49 runs on Monday but Fletcher insisted the toss in Goa was a big factor in the result.

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And despite the poor results so far, he remains resolute in his belief that the future is promising for England in the one-day arena.

"It's very important that these players do learn and I think this series is good experience for some of them," he said.

"As long as we learn from our mistakes - and we're going to make mistakes - it can only do them good for the future.

"We've still got a chance. There are four games to go and I still believe we have a positive attitude."

Fletcher's view has been supported by his former assistant, Tim Boon, who is now head coach at Leicestershire.

"When the ball's turning square, it's 40 degrees, you've got to think on your feet - and they're playing against some highly-tuned athletes over there.

"But it's going to go in the memory bank and they're going to gain from the experience and I still think when we get the blend right, we're going to do really well," Boon told BBC Radio Leicester.

"People like Trescothick, Flintoff, Pietersen, there's a lot of world-class performers there. Bring that together and we can be a formidable side - we just need that bit of glue that brings it together."