England held post-mortem after batting catastrophe

JOE ROOT and Trevor Bayliss led a highly charged but honest debate in the England dressing room after their latest batting collapse cost them any chance of winning the third Test against India at Trent Bridge. England’s cricketers usually reserve their team meetings until the end of a game, but the captain and coach initiated the discussion on Sunday evening, following the loss of all 10 first-innings wickets for 107. It was the third time in less than two years that England had been dismissed in a session of Test cricket, leaving them with an uphill battle to prevent India from closing the deficit to 2-1 in the series before next week’s fourth Test in Southampton. One source said that every team member chipped into the debate as England sought to understand why their batsmen continue to struggle in conditions that encourage swing. But there was also a determination not to allow the negativity that greeted their latest collapse to infect the dressing room. The mood among the players was that England had suffered one bad day, but still led the world’s No 1 Test side 2-0.