Cook also believes decision to starve England of quality spin bowling in the build-up to the first Test might just backfire on India.

The tactic, created by India coach Duncan Fletcher, has left England facing an unyielding diet of seam and relying on nets to get their defences fine-tuned against slow bowling.

But after watching Jonathan Trott become the fifth centurion from English ranks in the three warm-ups, Cook, above, said that Fletcher’s mind games have only served to boost confidence.

“You can have as many nets as you want for practice, but it is time in the middle and getting used to the rhythm of a game that’s vital and all of us have got runs out there,” the Daily Express quoted Cook, as saying.

“Clearly there has been a message of some sort. We’ve had [former Test spinner] Amit Mishra in this game and I don’t know if he ’s been injured but he didn’t bowl that many overs,” he added.

“The next four matches will tell you whether it has worked, but we’ve had some good practice out of the three games and everyone in our batting unit is feeling confident,” he said.