We just weren't in the game today, admits England coach Trevor Bayliss

We just weren't in the game today, admits England coach Trevor Bayliss

Nothing on this tour of India seems to be going right for England. Whenever they've managed to improve their own performance, India have been hitting back hard like they've done so far in Chennai. England made 477 after winning the toss and India's reply, led by a splendid triple hundred from Karun Nair, was to register their highest-ever Test total, as well as the highest-ever against England by any opponent. Trevor Bayliss, the visiting coach, didn't have any positives to pick out from the fourth day's play in Chennai.

"It's never easy when it happens. You've got to give credit to the Indian batters, who played extremely well," Bayliss said on Monday (December 18). "We just weren't in the game today. At times, we struggled to bowl to the fields that the captain had set. That just makes it very difficult," said the coach who was unhappy about the fielding efforts too. "Our catching is still below par - I think the last three catches we've dropped have only cost us 500!"

"We're a team that probably haven't got a lot of natural athletes. We've got some very good cricketers. We haven't got a lot of slippers... across the board, we've just got to get better - it's as simple as that. We got totally outplayed today, for sure," he added.

The increasingly frustrating days for England has also put Alastair Cook, who dropped Karun Nair on 34, under pressure. But Bayliss insisted that the decision to stay on as captain or not will be one taken by Cook himself. "I haven't even spoken to him about it. I won't do - that's a decision only he will know the answer to," Bayliss said.

"He's done it for so long, whether I say yes or no, it won't change his mind whether he keeps going or stops. If he keeps going, fantastic; if he stops, that's up to him, and I've got no problems with that either.

"I'm not going to put words into Cookie's mouth or try and get him to make a decision one way or the other. He's been around long enough, and knows his own mind, to make the right decision. I think he deserves everyone letting him do that."

If Cook does hang up his boots after the India tour, or steps down, the baton is likely to be passed on to Joe Root. "I don't think there's too many of our players who've actually captained too many teams, or any of their county teams," said Bayliss when asked about the succession plan. "Rooty's done a few games on tour, when Cookie's had a bit of time off or when he's off the ground. Joe is obviously our number one bat, and is highly-respected by the players. He's one of those guys who leads by example, and I can't see that being any different when and if he takes over ... if he takes over, I suppose, (because) we haven't actually made that decision either. That will come next if Cookie does step down. But he seems like he's the leading candidate at this stage."

While refusing to think too far ahead, Bayliss looked forward to the fifth day in Chennai with some optimism. England still trail by 270 runs and will have to bat out the last day on a pitch that hasn't deteriorated much to save themselves off the ignominy of a 4-0 scoreline. "I'm as confident as I can be," he said.

"These guys have character. We've been in a few tough situations over these seven Tests and have come out and played well the next day after a bad session or two. They won't want to get on the plane in a couple of days' time, having lost another Test match. They'll want to bat as well as they possibly can."