Intro:

England prepare for the fifth and final ODI (One Day International) against India at Headingley on Thursday.

Script:

England go into the fifth and final ODI against India at Headingley on Friday with little more than pride to play for, having already lost the series.

Alastair Cook's side have been comprehensively beaten in all three of the matches completed so far, after the first was rained off without a ball being bowled.

England lost by 133 runs in Cardiff and by six wickets with seven overs to spare in Nottingham.

Then, on Tuesday at Edgbaston in Birmingham, India cruised to a nine wicket win with almost 20 overs in hand - only the second time England have lost an ODI by such a margin on home soil.

The latest humbling has given Cook's critics further ammunition. Former captain Michael Vaughan has gone as far as to say that Cook should not even be in the one-day side, and he is not alone.

Cook faced similar pressure during the Test series, but vowed to fight on and England turned their fortunes around, taking it 3-1.

In limited over cricket though, it's a different story. With the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand fast approaching, India have risen to to top of the ICC (International Cricket Council) rankings, while England have slipped to fifth and appear to be going backwards.

However, middle order batsman Moeen Ali, the only England player to come out of the Edgbaston debacle with any real credit, said on Thursday that the squad are fully behind their captain.

In the short term at least, it appears that Cook will battle on as captain, but another thrashing at the hands of MS Dhoni and his men will not do his chances of leading England at the World Cup any good at all.