England set to make changes

Consecutive heavy defeats provide "food for thought" says skipper

Last updated: 18th November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

England set to make changes

Pietersen: plenty to think about after two losses

There's a food for thought there definitely, but we'll just wait and see.

Kevin Pietersen
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Kevin Pietersen confirmed England are considering playing two spinners in Thursday's third one-day international against India.

The tourists have suffered heavy defeats in the opening two games of the seven-match series and are likely to make changes for Kanpur.

England kept faith with the four-man seam attack that served them well last summer during the 4-0 victory over South Africa, but conditions in India mean they may have to accommodate a second spinner.

Nottinghamshire off-spinner Graeme Swann could come into the starting XI to supplement his county colleague Samit Patel's orthodox left-armers.

"There's a food for thought there definitely, but we'll just wait and see," said captain Pietersen.

Sidebottom scan

Another Nottinghamshire player, left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom, could also come into contention after missing out on the warm-up matches with a prolonged Achilles problem.

However, having come through a net session last Sunday unscathed, Sidebottom reported discomfort in his lower back upon England's arrival in Kanpur.

England have sent him for a scan, the results of which will be known on Wednesday.

"I just think we can be competitive and keep improving to get closer and win a couple of games," added Pietersen.

"We want to try to win this series because that's what we're here to do.

"I didn't want to change the side, I wanted to give the guys the confidence to know that they could turn things around.

"The team we went in with, we thought could win this fixture, and be more competitive, and we were."