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| Monty Panesar, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan watch England lose the one-day series in Bangalore [GALLO/GETTY] |
England skipper Kevin Pietersen has told his players to keep fighting after India
stamped their authority to take an unassailable 4-0 lead in the one-day series.
It comes as former captain Michael Vaughan – once one of the world's deadliest batsmen – proclaims himself ready to pull on an England shirt again.
Whitewash fear
In Bangalore on Sunday India won the rain-hit fourth game by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, leaving England facing the prospect of a routing in the series.
Pietersen said on Monday that his players needed to rally ahead of Wednesday's fifth one-dayer in Cuttack.
"We're in India and we've still got a Test series to come," he told the England Cricket Board website.
"The boys have been treated well, they've been having a fantastic time and I want their chins up.
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| Pietersen issues orders in the rain-hit loss [AFP] |
"I don't want to see anybody with their heads down and moping around, we want to come back firing on all cylinders on Wednesday (in Cuttack)."
Pietersen took over as skipper in the summer and led the team to a 4-0 home one-day series win over South Africa.
But he has come under intense scrutiny in India.
England's batting order, as well as the inability to play spin, has been criticised.
One solution, however unlikely, could be the recall of Ashes-winning skipper Michael Vaughan as a specialist batsman.
The 34-year-old is currently in India as a member of England's second-tier performance squad.
Omitted
Despite being awarded an England central contract Vaughan, who has not played in an ODI since last year's World Cup in the Caribbean, was omitted from the India tour squad.
With Australia in England next year, the Yorkshire batsman is adamant he still has a future as an international player.
"I'm centrally contracted, I'm out here in India, I believe I've got a great opportunity to get back in if I get my form right," he told BBC Radio Five Live on Monday.
"I've had five-and-a-half years as captain and I feel I contributed more as a leader than as a player.
"I want to get back to contributing as a good player who can hopefully score plenty of runs."
Although Vaughan could be called up in India, he is likely to have a better chance of being selected in England squad for the tour of the West Indies due to start in January.
In 82 Tests, Vaughan has scored 5,719 runs, including 18 centuries at an average of just over 41.
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