Collingwood blames batting for series defeat

London, Apr 8 (UNI) England batsman Paul Collingwood squared the blame of series loss against India on the batting but said England wanted to win the remaining three one-dayers to restore pride.

With the loss in Kochi, England have already conceded an irredeemable 4-0 lead to India.

''We were massively disappointed to lose in Cochin (Kochi), but no one's wanting to go home yet,'' Collingwood wrote in his coloumn for BBC Sports.

''We're playing for England, we're 4-0 down and want to put that right, but we have to pull our socks up and work even harder as a team now.'' Collingwood rued the harsh playing conditions in the last match in Kochi.

''The conditions in Cochin (Kochi) were just unbelievable.

Colombo in Sri Lanka came close in terms of the hardest conditions I've played in, but you won't get much hotter anywhere in the world.

''It's just one of those things you've got to put up with as a touring side, although it can get a bit ridiculous at times.'' In the hindsight, he said that while absence of some of the key players was massive, their replacements, especially the batsmen, did not click.

''Losing the likes of Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles, Simon Jones and Marcus Trescothick is massive - especially Trescothick, who's a major one-day player for us.

''Players (the replacements) are trying to find their positions and we're tinkering with our plans and strategy, because the batting hasn't worked as it should have.'' However, he was optimistic on England's chances in the World Cup next yerar.

''It's not all doom and gloom -- we've got time to find the right line-up for the World Cup,'' he said.

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