AGENCIES
LONDON
England will be "blown away" in next month's Test series in India if they do not improve with the bat, says former captain Michael Vaughan.
England claimed a tense 22-run victory on the final morning of the first Test in Bangladesh on Monday. They meet India, the world's top-ranked side, in a five-Test series starting on 9 November.
"If they perform like they did against Bangladesh, it'll be 5-0," Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live.
Two wickets in three balls from Ben Stokes on the fifth morning in Chittagong denied Bangladesh what would have been only their eighth win in 94 Tests - and their first against England. England made 293 and 240 against a Bangladesh team ranked ninth in the world, collapsing to 21-3 in the first innings and 28-3 in the second. Off-spinner Mehedi Hasan took seven wickets on his Bangladesh debut as 19 of England's 20 wickets in the match fell to spin.
The India side is set to feature off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the world's number one Test bowler, and slow left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, who is ranked seventh. Vaughan, who captained England in 51 of his 82 Tests between 1999 and 2008, said of England's top-order problems: "It doesn't matter who goes first... England for such a long time are always 30 or 40 for three. If they're 30 or 40 for three against India they'll get blown away.
"Yes, you celebrate a win, but hopefully England, in the background, are being honest with themselves that they can play better."
Speaking after Monday's victory, England coach Trevor Bayliss accepted his side had work to do from both a batting and bowling perspective. "Our spin bowlers need to be a bit more consistent in length," the 53-year-old Australian said. "It's difficult bowling spin to players who are used to playing spin."
However, Bayliss said he did not see the narrow nature of victory in Chittagong as a reason to adjust England's top order. "It would be difficult to make a change after one Test, considering we won it as well. It certainly wasn't easy but our batters will be better for it."
