"Lack Of Match Preparation": England Great Worries For Ben Stokes And Co Ahead Of India Tests

England's "lack of match preparation" in India ahead of the gruelling five-Test series could be a "problem" but the team can bank on its 'Bazball' approach to upstage Rohit Sharma and his men, feels Alastair Cook, who led the Englishmen to a memorable Test triumph in the country back in 2012. Having opted for a month-long training camp in 'subcontinent-like conditions' of Abu Dhabi, Ben Stokes and Co. arrived in Hyderabad on Sunday, just four days before the opening Test on Thursday.

"A problem England will have is a lack of match preparation," Cook, who had top-scored with 562 runs in the 2-1 come-from-behind win over India in the 2012-13 series, wrote in his column for 'The Sunday Times'.

"It is the nature of the modern tour. When we won in India in 2012 we had three warm-up games against good sides -- Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay were in the top four in the India A side we faced and Cheteshwar Pujara played in one of the other games," he recalled.

"...I can understand why England want to practise in a controlled environment where they know what the nets and facilities are going to be like and there's nothing too unpredictable.

Cook said at least one warm-up game should have been scheduled.

"It would be good if there was some sort of unwritten agreement between countries to put on decent practice matches in decent conditions for touring teams....at the moment too many series are totally dominated by the home side and I don't think that's healthy for Test cricket," the 39-year-old said.

Since their defeat in 2012, India have not lost at home, remaining undefeated in 14 Test series.

Bazball way forward

Cook, however, was confident in England's Bazball approach, which advocates an attacking style of