Tuesday 29 May 2018 09:30, UK
Trevor Bayliss believes England's batsmen need to work on mental approach rather than technique after their crushing defeat to Pakistan in the first Test at Lord's.
England were bowled out for just 184 and 242 by the tourists, who wrapped up a comfortable nine-wicket victory just before lunch on day four.
The England coach admitted: "Especially from a batting point of view, it was nowhere near good enough for Test level. Obviously, the Pakistanis bowled well, but we've got to be better than that.
"We keep making the same mistakes. When we lose one or two quick ones, it usually follows with another two or three and it's something we've got to continue to work on and make better.
"I think it's more mental than anything. In the past we've seen all these batters score runs - it's not as if they haven't done it before.
"The other thing we need is someone putting pressure on from outside and scoring plenty of runs and that's not necessarily happening at the moment either.
"It's no secret that from a one-day point of view we've got 16 guys that should be in the XI, in the Test team we've got seven or eight that deserve it and are trying to be even better and three or four positions that players are trying to nail down and haven't been up to the mark just yet.
"These guys are the best players that we've got and we've got an opportunity next week to turn it around."
England captain Joe Root defended his decision to bat first after winning the toss - but acknowledged his side were second best to Pakistan in all areas.
Root said: "If you look at the wicket and how abrasive it was, it was starting to go up and down and we're only on day four.
"If we bat well and get even somewhere near 250 to 300, it's going to be a very different game batting last on that surface.
"Pakistan exploited the conditions but we played some poor shots and gave some wickets away and you can't afford to do that in Test cricket.
"If I'm being brutally honest, we were outperformed in all three departments and it's a difficult pill to swallow. I'm sure we can bounce back and we've got an opportunity to do that."
