Our tour of India couldn't have been much worse so far with three heavy defeats in the one-day internationals.

The scene was set on the eve of the first one-dayer with the news that Claire Taylor's knee injury was worse than first thought and she was ruled out for the rest of the trip.

This was not what we wanted to hear with batting being the weaker area of our game and Claire our best exponent.

With replacement Jackie Hawker not joining us until after the one-day series and Helen Wardlaw and Laura Spragg still carrying slight injuries, the team virtually picked itself.

Opening defeat

It was humid and hot, even in warm-up, and I was relieved to be able to sit in the shade for a while as the Indians won the toss and put us in.

We got off to a steady start but lost wickets at regular intervals without anyone really establishing themselves.

No major partnerships were built and as a result we could only post a very disappointing score of 107.

We opened the bowling with left-arm spinner Dawn Holden as she'd been vomiting most of the morning and we needed to get some overs from her before she had to leave the field for bed!

Anjum Chopra receives the reward for beating England

It was another sterling effort in the field but in Mithali Raj, the Indians have a talented bat, and she led them to victory with a quickfire 36.

It was then off the Hyderabad for the second match where we hoped to improve our performance.

The hotel Golkonda where we were staying was more authentically Indian than our accommodation in Madras, but the cable TV and a comfortable bed was all that we needed to keep us happy.

Early losses

The heavens opened during the night with an awesome lightening display, so the second ODI didn't start on time. After various inspections a 23-over game started at 2.10pm.

We lost the toss and were put in but again disaster struck early and we were reeling at 15 for 3.

Caroline Atkins and Jane Cassar steadied the ship a little but we limped to 71 from our allotted quota.

Our bowling needed to be tight, and was, but the early wickets didn't materialise and the Indians went 2-0 up in the series.

The weather the following day was excellent, though, and we finally won a toss and asked them to bat in the third ODI.

Lucy Pearson bowled excellently to restrict them to 42 for 1 from 20 overs.

New low

But a couple of dropped catches proved costly and after plundering 76 from the final 10 overs India finished on 191.

Our batting display hit new lows - nothing learnt from the previous games - and we pathetically succumbed to 78 all out.

Even the Barmy Army left in disgust.

Clare Connor faces the press after another defeat

The ODI series had gone already with only a week on Indian soil and English women's cricket slumped to an all-time low.

John Harmer is a great coach and has been teaching us new techniques.

In the nets, we are all world-beaters but it's out in the middle that we can't seem to reproduce it.

Whatever it is, we need to collectively unlock our inhibitions and be brave.

We are now in Delhi for a two-day practice match at Peri Oval - one of the most exquisite settings for a cricket match.

Captain Clare Connor is resting her thigh strain, allowing me to enjoy my first taste of captaining England.

We have the chance for some much needed batting practice out in the middle prior to the Test match in Lucknow on 14 January. Hopefully it will make a difference.