Harbhajan Singh during Team India’s nets in Faridabad on Thursday. (Reuters)

New Delhi: England lost five players to sweep in the first one-dayer but coach Duncan Fletcher said on Thursday that he had not banned the players from using the shot again in the series against Indian spinners.

A consistent advocate of playing the sweep, Fletcher said his confidence in the shot had not been shaken by the reversal in the series-opener, but advised the players to use it selectively.

“In the subcontinent, sweep is a very effective shot against spinners. It is just that at the end of the day they have got to be more selective in using the shot,” he said after a three-hour workout at the nets ahead of the match in Faridabad, near here on Friday.

England lost Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior and Ian Blackwell to the sweep shot to be bundled out for 164 while chasing India’s 203 in the first match at the Kotla, leading to widespread criticism of their batting strategy.

But rather than the shot, the Zimbabwe-born coach blamed the inexperience of his squad for the defeat while promising to pull up their socks in Faridabad.

“We have a young side. There are five new players and there are some who are relatively experienced. Some of these players need to know how to adjust with certain conditions, the thing is what happened in Kotla could have happened in a final,” Fletcher said.

“We were vulnerable in one match, there are still six matches to go,” he added.

Asked about the pitch at the Nahar Singh Stadium, he said, “I have had a look at it. It looks like a pretty slow wicket. It has a bit of grass, but you never know exactly how it will behave. We will have another look at it tomorrow morning.”

Fletcher also sought to defend the decision to practice at the Kotla instead of Faridabad, saying they would have lost close to three hours in travelling.

“We planned to have it here as we would have lost three hours in travelling. Travelling in a bus for three hours for a two-hour practice did not make sense. We thought it is better to practice here and get ready for the game.”

Asked whether the team would open again with Prior, he said, “We will decide on it tonight as we have been doing throughout the tour.”

England skipper Flintoff would have an added motivation to win the second one-dayer as this would be his 100th ODI, a significant milestone considering the relative inexperience of the rest of the squad.

Fletcher was quick to heap praise on the 28-year-old, leading the side in absence of regular Michael Vaughan.

“It (the feat) is special, especially for an allrounder,” Fletcher said.

“It’s nice to see he has got to 100 and is going pretty strong. Hopefully, with all that pressure he will continue to enjoy it. We just hope it won’t get too much for him to excel in all the three departments of the game.”

(Agencies)