Bresnan helps apply the brakes late on to earn Cook’s approval

Captain Alastair Cook believes England have found the ‘death bowlers’ to help realise their ambition to be a force in one-day international cricket.

Team director Andy Flower has targeted an improvement in the 50-over game – England are currently ranked fifth – beginning with the current series against world champions India.

Saturday’s opening game at Chester-le-Street was abandoned due to rain, although Cook found reason for cheer in his side’s bowling performance during the late overs.

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While India set a difficult chase of 274-7, England looked set to concede a larger total before seam duo Jade Dernbach and Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan pegged back the tourists late on.

Although both had been expensive earlier, they showed their nous for bowling in the late overs as they restricted India, as well as claiming key wickets, during the batting powerplay.

“I thought we bowled very well in the second half of that 50 overs, especially in the batting powerplay towards the death,” Cook said.

“I thought Jade and Bressie bowled well because at one stage we could have been looking at a score of over 300.

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“The final overs and powerplays was certainly a big area of our game which we needed to improve.

“We’re making steps of progress in that area. That’s what we need to do to be more consistent in challenging the best teams.”

Dernbach has impressed with his slower-ball variations since breaking into the team at the start of the summer, while Bresnan – who was on a hat-trick on Saturday after removing the dangerous Mahendra Singh Dhoni and R Ashwin in his final over – has established himself as a key man in such circumstances since England’s World Twenty20 success last year.

Bresnan also proved his worth at the World Cup – most notably during the famous tie against India – but Cook believes his side can now build more pressure with Dernbach providing similar craft at the other end.

“He (Dernbach) is outstanding at the moment,” Cook added.

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“He’s proved now in those five games against Sri Lanka and that Twenty20 last week and (on Saturday), he’s proven very hard to hit.

“He’s certainly got a huge amount of work to do, like we all do, but it’s very encouraging.”

Cook had looked to put an injury-depleted Indian batting order under immediate pressure when he sent them in under overcast skies at the Riverside.

India were without seven of the team that won the World Cup in April after star man Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out on the morning of the game with a toe injury that could yet end his tour.

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However, India hardly missed him at Durham as his replacement at the top of the order Parthiv Patel struck 95 from 107 balls.

It formed the backbone of India’s healthy score, as Cook’s plan to bowl was undermined by some good batting and wayward early bowling from his side.

Parthiv and fellow opener and debutant Ajinkya Rahane were punishing on anything short on a slow wicket.

Cook admitted his side would have to improve their new-ball bowling , but praised the performance of the tourists’ makeshift openers.

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“It wasn’t so much what went wrong at the start, I just think you’ve got to give credit to the way they play,” he said.

“Parthiv Patel played well, especially, and they got off to a good start so it doesn’t always go your way against quality players.

“We will review the game like we always do and see the areas we can improve in.”

He added that he was not surprised that the injury-ravaged Indians had performed so well.

“That’s why they are world champions,” he said.

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“They’re a formidable side in Test cricket as well and that’s why they were the number one side in the world.

“We played better than them in Test cricket and that’s why we won but they’re full of talented players so you know it’s going to be a real battle on the pitch.”

Cook and fellow opener Craig Kieswetter both fell to Praveen Kumar before the rain came, but the left-hander felt his side still could have won if the covers had come off.

“Well, you never know what can happen do you?” he said. “That was a very good wicket, quick outfield, a big oval to play on and 270 was certainly gettable.”

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Cook was hopeful that England would return to full strength for tomorrow’s second match after Graeme Swann was forced to remain in the team hotel with a virus that has grounded him for the past two days.

“I hope he’ll be all right, it is just a virus, you know how they can knock you for six very quickly,” he said.

“But he can recover quickly as well so hopefully Swann will be back by Tuesday.”

Dhoni expects india to seek more stand-ins

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is starting to believe India’s tour of England is cursed after he saw his side’s crippling injury list grow further on a day rain denied them a long-awaited win in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.

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India were in the box seat to claim a maiden win over England on tour after Parthiv Patel’s 95 helped them post 274-7.

England were then 27-2 in their reply before the forecast rain finally arrived and remained to prevent a result.

It was an unsatisfying end for India whose day was soured further when star man Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma were added to their long list of injuries.

Already depleted, India, who started Saturday’s game without seven of their World Cup winners, have been forced to fly six players home with Sharma almost certain to join them after he suffered a fractured finger after being struck by a Stuart Broad short ball.

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The prognosis on Tendulkar’s toe injury is less concerning although he will also have it assessed before tomorrow’s second match of the series at the Rose Bowl.

It left Dhoni to lament his luck as his side, hoping to turn around their fortunes after their 4-0 Test series whitewash, were left licking their wounds again.

“I thought whatever could go wrong went wrong (in the Test series), but it is always increasing the next game,” he said. “It looks like we will be asking for more replacements because with Rohit it is almost 100 per cent sure that he’ll be going back after meeting the specialist.

“It doesn’t seem like he will participate in the series. With Sachin he is also going to see a specialist to look at his right big toe. He practised to full intensity with us Friday evening and early Saturday morning it flared up.

“I think we will need an extra batsman.

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“We will put our views to the selectors and hopefully we will get that.”

Asked if he thought his side were cursed, he added: “If it is down to the one who is sitting on top then I can’t worry because we’ve seen some good days and we’ll see some bad days.

“But all sorts of things have happened – still we are fighting with whatever resources we have.”

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