Moores looks ahead

Kevin Pietersen goes through his warm-up routine in their first training session

England will enter next week's one-day international series against India with coach Peter Moores convinced their momentum has not been stalled by their Stanford disappointment.

The emphatic 4-0 series win over South Africa at the end of last summer gave England hope they could arrive in India and claim their first one-day series success out here since 1984-5.

Confidence was high and the team were in form when the series came to a damp conclusion in Cardiff on September 3 with South African coach Mickey Arthur claiming England could succeed in India if they maintained the same high-intensity style of cricket.

But since then England have enjoyed some time off and were unable to continue that winning cricket in Antigua, where they fell to a 10-wicket defeat in last Saturday's Stanford 20/20 for 20 match.

But Moores remains confident England can pick up where they left off against South Africa when the seven-match series begins in Rajkot on November 14.

"I don't think we have lost the momentum," he stressed. "It was an experience in Antigua, a different form of competition.

"There has been talk about what it was for and it produced a very big game of Twenty20 cricket but that's all in the past now for us.

"We have 50-over cricket coming up and we finished very strongly against South Africa the last time we played.

"We came up with a successful formula for that sort of cricket and we have a new captain in Kevin (Pietersen) who is excited about taking that brand of cricket over here to India and being successful.

"Historically it's somewhere that England haven't done that well and there's a real challenge playing against spin and the different conditions we play in.

"The last time we played here in a one-day series we found it hard work and we want to try if we can to play better than that and put India under pressure."

Eight players - James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Owais Shah - have survived since England suffered a 5-1 defeat in India just two years ago.

Moores and Pietersen are hopeful England can be more competitive this time, although they accept that tactics may change to adapt to the different conditions in India.

James Anderson is one of eight players who featured in the last one-day series in India

England used only 12 players to dominate the series against South Africa - and that only because Collingwood was banned for the opening match - but Moores has conceded their winning formula may need tinkering with in this series.

"We will look at it," he revealed. "The side against South Africa didn't change much. We played four heavy seamers which worked well for us but the strength of the squad is that we have people like Ravi Bopara who didn't play, Graeme Swann who has been bowling very well and Ryan Sidebottom.

"There is good variation in the squad so we'll have a tough job selecting the side but it's nice to know we've got players in form."

For Pietersen the welcome press conference at the Brabourne stadium was his first real insight into the intense scrutiny he will be subjected to as captain during the tour.

Despite the rival attraction of India's final Test against Australia in Nagpur, nearly 30 camera crews turned up to witness the press conference and England's first training session since they arrived.

Pietersen, though, remained unfazed by the attention, stressing: "I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but I have had it throughout my career from the moment I first played for England and I've got my way of dealing with that pressure.

"Now I'm captain I don't feel any extra pressure. I see how excited and up for the challenge the guys are and you can only play with that.

"You play together as a team and it is about moulding that team with your plans and the roles you've got for people to do and then you get out there and do it. The results will take care of themselves."

Left-arm quick Ryan Sidebottom picked up an ankle injury in Antigua and did not bowl at today's session.

But England are hopeful the Nottinghamshire man will take part in tomorrow's practice, which will be done as a split session as there are only two serviceable nets to utilise.

Tomorrow's session is also their final practice before the first of two one-day warm-up matches, starting with a 50-over game against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI side deprived of all their leading players by Ranji Trophy matches taking place on the same day.