Marsh: 'On the whole I was pleased'

England A's tour of Sri Lanka ended in disappointment with well-worn criticism over fitness and a lack of technique again to the fore.

Rod Marsh, the Academy director whose term of office ends in September, was keen to push the positives, but the manner of the defeats against A teams from Sri Lanka and Pakistan were a cause for worry. "I told them it would be tough," he said. "The weather, the grounds and the opponents all wore them down physically and that took its toll on them mentally.

"When it comes to playing tough cricket, it does not get any worse than March in Sri Lanka and, on the whole, I was pleased with the way they coped. There were some terrific individual performances.

"I don't think a few of them realised just how tough it is to play cricket in this part of the world. You can tell them a million times, but it is not until they actually play in this continual, oppressive heat that they find out what it's really like. When you see guys struggling with dehydration, it makes you wonder how the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis cope with it.

"To win here takes a lot of discipline, with the whole squad pulling together at every stage of the tour. Perhaps we had a few guys who wished they weren't here because it was too tough, but in the main I was very proud of the way they played until the last three games."