Dhoni's team an embarrassment to themselves

At The Oval on Monday England completed a 4-0 Test whitewash of India, and though it has been one-way traffic since mid-July the idea will take some getting used to. The series may have lacked a hundredth hundred from Sachin Tendulkar, but this is history in its own right.

In the last six years England have won all rubbers in a series against only Bangladesh and the West Indies, and then two Tests each time. There was the golden summer of 2004 of course, but this is different to torturing hapless New Zealand and Windies teams. India, the world champions and leading Test side, not just humbled but humiliated. For comparisons we begin to look to South Africa against Australia in 1970, the West Indies in England in 1984 and the 2006/7 Ashes.

England deserve all the credit they are now receiving, and we discussed their merits at some length last week. Having feted their brilliance, it is time to look at the thing from another angle. In reviewing a 4-0 score-line that masks eye-watering margins of defeat, it is impossible to ignore Indian inadequacy. There are two sides to every coin and no-one can deny that, as good as the home side have been, India have been as wretched, an embarrassment to themselves and the world number one title they so recently held.

In acknowledging this, the overriding emotion is regret. For the English who care about only a win for their side - and there have been plenty cheering Tendulkar's demise all summer, apparently unaware that his departure denies them a chance to witness greatness - the poorer the opposition the better. But for lovers of Test cricket, this has been a disappointing series.

In previewing the contest last month we dismissed the idea that it had "the potential" to be a great contest, insisting: 'Only the weather can stop this from being so.' Oops. That should have read, 'Only the weather or dereliction of professional duty can stop this from being so.' The lack of competitive tension has been stunning.

A lack of preparation lies at the heart of India's performance, resulting in the high profile withdrawal of Zaheer Khan. But increasingly irksome as the series progressed has been an indifferent attitude. Only Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Praveen Kumar have shown real determination to make the best of a bad job.

VVS Laxman in particular has stood out as a man who feels he has better things to do. In putting down one catch in three in practice at Trent Bridge he was dressed less for cricket than for skiing, and a journey south to the sunnier climbs of Birmingham did little for his mood. For the second innings at Edgbaston he walked to the crease with body language that would shame a Sunday league number 11. It was easy to imagine him in the dressing room hearing the clatter of a third wicket, letting out an exasperated sigh, removing the hot water bottle from his trousers, laying down a half-eaten pasty with undisguised reluctance, and plodding down the pavilion steps still brushing the crumbs from his sweater. He ended the series with 182 runs from eight innings.

Given Laxman's penchant for following a run of low scores with an exuberant 250-or-so (as AN Cook's Encyclopaedia Centuria calls it, "the vivacious MILF ton"), it would be no surprise to see the young buck of India's middle order return to form in Australia at the end of the year. But the opportunity to deliver in the most trying and significant of circumstances has been passed up for an easy life. Laxman has been the poster boy but a number of colleagues have fallen short.

Attention turns to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The captain is famously in charge of a group that have made themselves unmanageable. And sidelining the coach is fine when you are winning. Tendulkar has called Dhoni the best leader he has played under.

But in the aftermath of a defeat such as this, questions have to be asked. It is difficult to imagine India following England and Australia in launching a thorough review of all BCCI preparation and practices - this is only Test cricket, after all. But Duncan Fletcher lacks the authority to intervene and so, apparently, does Dhoni. The captain does not set the schedule (though if he asked for more warm-up time he would certainly get it). But he does carry responsibility for the team's attitude. England have exerted intense pressure throughout this series, but basic resistance has been lacking. How has such a charismatic and powerful leader failed so absolutely to elicit a response from his team?

It will be interesting to see how India react. When they meet England again in Test cricket in 15 months, the veteran middle-order trio will likely be gone while it'd be no surprise to see Virender Sehwag and Khan focus on the limited-overs game. A generational change in the dressing room would leave Dhoni as the elder statesman and perhaps a group of younger players would be more amenable than the galacticos to traditional management and coaching.

In turn this may create a new problem - if the cliché is right then many young Indian players are no more interested in Test cricket than Laxman, Khan and co. these past weeks. But some fundamental change is necessary after an abject series.

There are many reasons why England have been so impressive and it is easy to identify their key strengths in organisation and execution. It is much more difficult to work out how India have been quite this bad - to lose twice by an innings as well as margins of 196 and 319 runs is a sign of great distress no matter how good the opposition are.