England must pick up the pieces

By Paresh Soni
BBC Sport at Trent Bridge

Moores now has to ponder how his team can win the final Test

How do you fix something that is not broken?

That is the dilemma facing England coach Peter Moores following the seven-wicket defeat here by India, a loss that leaves them 1-0 down with one Test left and facing their first home series defeat since the 2001 Ashes.

There is little he could have done about the coin landing in Rahul Dravid's favour on Friday, when the conditions were ideal for India's excellent swing bowlers.

When it came to his bowling unit, they arguably put in their best performance of the summer on Saturday and Sunday - the waywardness of Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett seemed a long time ago.

But despite that, India secured a hefty and ultimately match-winning advantage as the pitch eased slightly.

That successful bowling combination England possess comes with one big disadvantage - a long tail.

When Moores' predecessor Duncan Fletcher - he of the "three-dimensional cricketer" mantra - tried to address the problem he was ridiculed.

But can anyone really say England are secure with a tail of Chris Tremlett, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar and James Anderson?

Sidebottom and Panesar have worked hard, and they are by no means the worst tail-enders to wear the three lions - Malcolm, Tufnell, Mullally, Such anyone?

Sidebottom was a frustrated figure at Trent Bridge

However, any half-decent international bowler - and India have a few of those - should perk up at the prospect of the easy pickings on offer.

They were not selected for their batting, though, and at various points each bowled exceptionally well.

Sidebottom could really have picked up three or four wickets in that brilliant spell on Sunday which had even the great Sachin Tendulkar on the ropes.

Tremlett was unfortunate the previous evening, beating the outside edge almost at will, while Anderson bowled with heart and fire, if sometimes a bit too short, and Panesar was unlucky with several lbw decisions.

There is no need to rush Matthew Hoggard's recovery from a back problem or to bring in the promising Stuart Broad.

Which of the pacemen would Broad dislodge anyway, even if his batting is stronger than the others? Tremlett appears his obvious rival but that would be harsh on the Hampshire youngster.

On the batting side, there is no real cause for alarm, although Andrew Strauss' lack of footwork remains a concern and Matt Prior is going to have to back his persistent talk up with actions.

Which does bring us to something Moores should be able to control, but has allowed to get out of control.

Like Fletcher, he is one of the more mild-mannered individuals off the field, but that is in stark contrast to some of the antics we have seen in the first two Tests.

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Is it mere coincidence that at Sussex - with Chris Adams - and now England, he has worked with two captains who like to get into the faces of the opposition? Prior is another common factor.

That strategy backfired here with India, and Zaheer Khan in particular, showing they are more than capable of standing up to it and firing back with interest.

On or off the field, Moores needs to conjure something up in the next week or face defeat in just his second series at the helm.

The 2001 Ashes defeat was Fletcher's only one on these shores in 14 series.

When the Zimbabwean took over, English cricket was in the depths of desolation, recriminations abounded, and deriding the county game was very much in fashion.

After the Ashes nightmare, World Cup debacle, and Schofield report, the pressure to succeed remains intense.

By bringing the England team closer to the domestic scene Moores has earned a great deal of praise since taking the reins but the no-contest against the West Indies was an easy start.

This is his first real test. Supporters and employers will be watching to see how he reacts.