'Be a little bit patient with this squad': Fletcher

Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, says that the inexperienced one-day side must be given time to develop. England, after drawing the Test series in India, are trailing 0-3 in the one-day series with four games to play. "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."

England are without Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. Kevin Pietersen missed the third ODI at Goa because of a stomach bug.

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

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