'Preparation wasn't ideal' - Batting coach Marcus Trescothick after England's 183 in the first innings

England got off to the worst possible start in the five-match Test series against India. After opting to bat first, the hosts got bowled out for a meagre total of 183 runs in the first innings with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami picking seven wickets between them. England's batsmen didn't look up for the challenge and the techniques came under the scanner as well.

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Only Joe Root looked class apart during his 64-run knock. Talking about the dismal performance of the team with the bat, the batting coach Marcus Trescothick reckoned that the preparation ahead of the Test series wasn't ideal for the home team. He put it down to the scheduling as well with several Test cricketers featuring in The Hundred before the series.

"It's probably not , no. Of course you would want them to play a certain amount of red-ball cricket going into it. Scheduling is always an issue. We'd love to get more time into them at the crease: bowling with the red ball; facing the red ball. We'd love the preparation to be slightly better. But it's not the way it is, so you have to get into it in a different fashion," he said according to ESPNCricinfo.

However, with the tough times going on, Trescothick understands that nothing can be done about the scheduling. Moreover, he was all praise of Indian pace attack that was relentless right through the innings. Trescothick also lauded the quality and depth India's bowling.

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"They are the most potent in comparison to where they have been for the past few years. They have a lot of bases covered. You can see the guys are not playing, how much quality they have also. They have a good stock currently. They don't get to the World Test Championship final for no reason.

"We saw them go to Australia and perform there, so it's no surprise to us. It's just challenging and we know it's a real contest, we have to raise our game to match up against their skills. We have that ability, it's just making sure we do it better than we have done today," England's batting coach added.