Botham says India can’t stop best England side to tour them since 1984-85

London: Test great Ian Botham has claimed the current England side is the best among previous English teams to tour India, and added the host would find it very difficult to stop Alastair Cook’s men in the final Test match at Nagpur. “The bowling line-up have been magnificent and with the combination of seam and spin the Indian's don't have an answer. A second brilliant performance out of two and as good as Alastair Cook was again, this was one for the team,” Botham wrote in his column for the Daily Mirror. “Where England are rampant, India are faltering and to be honest I don’t see how they can stop Cook’s side.

They are stronger in every area and the results are proving it. They will want to finish things off in style in Nagpur and no matter which way India turn I think they will be picked off by England. They are dominant,” he added. “You’ll have to go back to the team of 1984-85 to find an England side that is so completely outplaying the Indians at home. This should be a defining series for English cricket,” he further wrote. Botham added: “What please me most about this win was that everybody contributed even if it was in a small way. Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann are offering their captain a threat as well as control, the perfect recipe for slow bowlers, and they are bowling a lot of overs.” “Of course Cook was the start turn, but with Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen also in form, the Indians really won’t know how to stop them,” he concluded. ANI