'The England captain's blinkered view has not served his side well in the opening two one-day internationals in India,' says Mike Atherton in his piece in the Times.

Now the inference is clear: spinners, in the world according to the England captain, are allowed to play a role, but only in so far as they are there as fodder for batsmen. It is almost as if they are a subspecies. Why should spinners not be important in one-day cricket?