England captain Alastair Cook is determined to present a united front with coach Trevor Bayliss as they try to battle back from 2-0 down against India.

Cook, who confirmed Keaton Jennings will make his debut in the fourth Test on Thursday as his latest opening partner but described Stuart Broad's return from injury as "probably a 50/50 call", was required at his pre-match press conference to confirm he and Bayliss are still on the same page tactically.

It was after the second-Test defeat in Vizag that their statements did not entirely tally, Cook claiming his team had all "bought into" a commitment to all-out defence in pursuit of an unlikely draw while Bayliss was less dogmatic.

After the coach then spoke of his need to "step up" and deliver the message that a more pro-active approach will be necessary in Mumbai, following a second defeat in Mohali, Cook was inevitably asked if he concurs.

He answered unequivocally "yes". "It wasn't just Trevor saying it," said Cook. "I was part of the conversation, and I agree. I think we play well when we have a bit of direction."

Cook therefore could not have been surprised to read, while he and the majority of the squad were having a revitalising mid-series break in Dubai, that back at base camp the coach was publicly delivering a new rallying call on Monday.

"It was clearly a message I knew was coming out," said the captain. "We'd chatted at the end of that Mohali game, and I think it's a very fair thing.

"As part of the leadership group, alongside Trevor and a couple of coaches, we sat down and discussed how we wanted to play and what had happened from our first game when we scored at three-and-half runs an over (in the draw) at Rajkot."

Cook wonders, with hindsight, if the attempted 'blockathon' in the second Test somehow muddled minds for the next match.

"It was a bit of a hangover, and we did go back into out shells a bit. So after chatting, I think it was a clear message we wanted to play a little bit more aggressively - with more intent."

Cook confirmed that Jennings will partner him in the fourth Test (Getty)

He insists he and Bayliss broadly share the same cricket philosophy.

"Clearly, my batting has over a long period of time been about wearing the opposition down and batting for long periods. But that doesn't change the intent I need to have.

"It's not just about hitting fours and sixes - if you have the intent to score runs you get into better positions anyway, so I think that's a good message we always need."

It did not take long for Cook to work out what makes Bayliss tick, because it was laid bare in a successful team talk in his first match in charge - a resounding victory at the start of last year's Ashes.

"In his first ever game in Cardiff I remember his message, when we had a 100-odd lead in that Ashes Test. Just as we were putting our pads on he said 'This is not about survival now. There's no point trying to bat until lunch on day four. If we score 300 they'll need to chase 400 - and that'll be enough to win the game - so go out and score those runs'.

"I think the team responded to that very well, and he was absolutely right."



Cook believes England need to revisit both the spirit of Cardiff and Rajkot as they try to salvage a drawn series over the next two weeks.

"Rajkot was our blueprint. We played really well there, and we may have slipped since, but I hope we can go back to that level."

He will begin the process, if he manages to first win the toss, in company with Jennings - flown in from Dubai, where the South Africa-born batsman marked his England Lions debut with a century last week.

It reminds Cook of his own first Test a decade ago, in this country at Nagpur where he made a maiden hundred in his second innings, after he too had been summoned from England A duty - in his case in the West Indies.

"It's pretty similar to what happened with me 10 years ago, flying in 48 hours before the game," he said, adding his first impressions of his fellow left-hander are already favourable. I'd never met him properly, so it's probably been quite daunting for him in one sense.

"(But) he seems a really good guy. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and mentally I think he's a very strong player, so I wish him all the best."