Thorpe offered some welcome resistance

This tour is a model for the future of England's overseas trips.

The players insisted on returning home for Christmas and, since we journalists also have an interest, I am not going to criticise them for that.

However, from a purely cricketing perspective, it means that there are no practice matches between any of the Tests and how England's batsmen could do with an opportunity to face some spin bowling before Ahmedabad.

Vaughan recall

There is no easy solution since the new five-year Test championship dictates that shorter tours have to become the norm, but I wonder if standards will decline as a result.

There are bound to be calls for changes to England's line-up, but I doubt if that would make any difference.

I would like to see Michael Vaughan opening the batting, not least because he is right-handed to Trescothick's left.

The young pace bowler, Yohannan, was much more comfortable slanting the ball away from Butcher and Trescothick than he was when confronted by a right-hander.

Besides, Vaughan is an accomplished batsman who truly values his wicket and he could always bowl a few overs too.

England should persist with James Foster

Then there is James Foster's position behind the stumps. He had a disappointing debut, missing two straightforward chances and scoring only five runs.

We must remember, though, that his selection was very much an investment for the future and it would be pointless to discard him after only one match.

He should be honest, though, and acknowledge his shortcomings, and must work extremely hard to raise his standards.

In fact, England's fielding as a whole was well below what one would expect from an international team and particularly one that knows it is starting from behind in every match here.

Half chances must be taken if England are to compete but the harsh reality is this inexperienced team has given no real indication that they are capable of causing the Indians too many headaches.