Nasser Hussain attributes England debacle to IPL

The Indian Premier League continues to be blamed for England's cricketing slump with ex-captain Nasser Hussain saying that "IPL issues" have prevented Andrew Strauss' men from playing as a "happy bunch".

"They have not been a happy bunch -- there have been issues about the IPL," Hussain was quoted as saying by 'The Mirror'. England went down by an innings and 23 runs against West Indies in the first Test in Jamaica, being bowled out for an embarrassing 51 runs in their second innings.

The defeat came a day after star batsman Kevin Pietersen and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff became the world's richest cricketers attracting record-breaking bids of USD 1.55 million each in the IPL players' auction. Hussain said apart from the IPL, Pietersen's equation with a few teammates after being asked to step down as England captain, due to his public spat with sacked coach Peter Moores, is also a cause of concern.

"I've felt since I arrived there are still issues between Pietersen and certain people, both in and out of the side," he said

"It seems this England side have to be kicked before they can show what they can do," he added.

Reflecting on the humiliating loss, another former captain Ian Botham said England's cricketers have not bettered their skills as much as other international players have and the team relies too heavily on Pietersen's form. "At the same time England's batsmen must face up to their failure. For me there has been too much of a reliance on the top order for Kevin Pietersen to get the runs all the time - it is not good enough.

"All of England's so-called young talent need to work harder on getting better. My old pal Nasser Hussain comes up with a bright thought every now and again and I completely agree with his sentiment that England's cricketers are standing still while the rest of the world are moving forward.

"The likes of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Michael Clarke and Gautam Gambhir are all getting better and better," he added. Former skipper Graham Gooch had also blamed the IPL for distracting the players during the test match