Kevin Pietersen needs to admit that he has a problem

England lost the Test match because some of their batsmen did not have the self-belief, mental application and skill to play the turning ball.

Ian Bell's stupid attempt in the first innings to hit his first ball over the top was a huge mental error. To play like that when you have his skill shows he must have been sat waiting to go in with a scrambled brain, worrying to death about how he played the last time he was in India and his poor performances against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in February.

Then there was Kevin Pietersen's second innings premeditated sweep to another left-arm spinner who bowled him with a full toss around leg stump.

In both cases our two most accomplished stroke-players were not convinced they had a good enough defensive technique to fight their way through the first 30 minutes with the ball turning and four men around the bat.

Twice in this Test match KP got out to poor shots against the left-arm spinner. He has got out 25 times to left-arm slow bowlers in his Test career. His ego will not let him admit he has a problem starting against them and until he puts his hand up and admits it then every time he comes in to bat the opposition will put the left-arm spin bowler on and we will all hold our breath waiting to see if he survives or does something daft.

Jonathan Trott had two failures but attempted to play properly and so did Bell in the second innings. Their three dismissals are what can happen on slow turning pitches but at least they made the bowlers bowl them out.

If England are going to make a fist of the next three Test matches every batsman has to play like Alastair Cook, with the self-belief, determination and willpower that they can cope with the turning ball.

It is simple. Get right forward and smother the spin, or move back deep in your crease, wait for the ball, let it turn and go with it. Have in your mind certain shots that you know you can play almost in your sleep and stick to those shots. Having a good basic defence is the key. Pick the length.

The reason Cook is so good is because he does not try to play every shot in the book. He has marvellous stamina, a strong mind and self-belief and it is hard to get him out of his comfort zone. He is probably the most effective player in world cricket. He might not be the most pleasing on the eye - that is KP - but I know which one I would like to bat for me in my team.

Many of the pitches in India look a hell of a lot worse than they are. It is a matter of believing that they can play on them. If you get it into your head that you can't then we have not got any chance of beating India.

Nick Compton was bowled naively between bat and pad in the first innings but showed a great deal of application when he batted second time around. It shows he has got a strong mind, is looking to learn and he has a good chance of making runs on this tour because he believes he can.

I don't think India's two spinners are great: they are good bowlers, and nothing more. Frankly if Monty Panesar plays and bowls anything like he can then I think he and Swann are better bowlers than India's two spinners.

How the hell our coaching staff and captain could pick three seamers on that pitch in Ahmedabad beggars belief.

We made the same stupid error against Pakistan in the UAE in the first Test match of that series. We left out Monty and when he did play he got wickets. How many times do India go into a Test match in their own country, on their pitches with three seamers? Hardly ever.

For God's sake learn from them. Persisting with three seamers is crazy unless there is grass on the pitch, which I have seen only once here in all my years - the Jubilee Test in 1980 which we won and Ian Botham took 13 wickets.

Then again, even if we play Panesar in the next Test match, and our spinners bowl brilliantly, it isn't going to matter unless the batsmen put more runs on the board in both innings.

If we get a chance to win the toss and bat first when the pitch is at its best we have to put big numbers on the board so India have to play with scoreboard pressure.

It is so important to have patience and wait for the spinners to give you something to hit.

Don't go attacking the bowling before you are in. That was the mistake Bell and KP made. When you get in, don't give it away. Make big scores because time is not important. It is runs that are crucial for England if we are going to have any chance of winning.