India showing England how to play ODI cricket: Alec Stewart

Alec Stewart, the former England captain, has come down heavily on the home team for their poor showing in the ongoing ODI series against India, calling them 'overcautious and unadventurous'.

While the first match in Bristol was washed out, England suffered big losses in Cardiff and Nottingham as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five match series.

Stewart, writing for The Mirror, said it pained him to see England repeatedly committing the same errors, which reminded him of the team in the 1990s.

"Last week, I asked England to be brave and take the positive options at every opportunity but whats been on show so far is the same old failings. Overcautious and unadventurous, repeating mistake after mistake. Watching England in this current series is exactly how England played back in the mid 1990s," Stewart wrote.

"England have to understand that the game has moved on and must be prepared to play a style of cricket that will worry the opposition," added Stewart, who captained England in 42 ODIs between 1992 and 2003.

Former players like Michael Vaughan and Graeme Swann had questioned Alastair Cook's place in the side and had even mentioned that England, with a defensive skipper, did not stand a chance in the World Cup next year.

While writing that the England selectors would not want to change things with only a few months to go for the world event, Stewart said that the current lot of England players have to play without fear in order to succeed in ODI cricket.

"Any call for Cook to stand down will fall on deaf ears and I can understand why the selectors won't change things with just a few months to go before the World Cup starts. The big challenge is to get this group of players playing without fear and being allowed to show off their talents," he said.

"Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan are fine players but they could become vulnerable with Gary Ballance and Moeen Ali in the squad but yet to play. If the batting still shows no signs of improvement then the selectors will have no choice but to experiment and throw in the likes of James Taylor, James Vince or Jason Roy for the seven match series in Sri Lanka before Christmas," he added.

England have had a forgettable summer as far as ODI cricket is concerned. They lost the series against Sri Lanka 3-2 before conceding a 2-0 lead to India. Stewart said the Indian cricketers are showing England how to play ODI cricket and the home-team players should learn from the way the visitors have hit back following their dismal showing in the Test series.

"India look a completely different team to the rabble that threw in the towel in the recent Test series. They are currently giving their hosts a lesson in how to play 50 over cricket. Strong shots, improvisation and not allowing any England bowler to settle has been their formula mixed in with variety in the bowling attack."

While most of the England players have been below par, Stewart is impressed with the way Chris Woakes and Alex Hales have played. "On the few positives from England I've been impressed with the progress Chris Woakes is making as an all rounder while Alex Hales has shown enough in his first two games at the top of the order that he can succeed at this level."

Stewart's advice to the England team is to identify the right players for the World Cup and ensure that their roles are properly defined.

"England mustn't fall into the trap of previous World Cup when the carefully laid plans that had been in place were suddenly ripped up just a few weeks before the tournaments began. By the time England take on India and Australia "down under" in a tri series leading into the World Cup, they must know how they're going to play and which players can deliver," he said.