Match 1, Calcutta
Saturday, January 19, 2002 Marcus Trescothick played one of the greatest one-day innings I've ever seen. It was made all the more special because he had been ill right up until the morning of the match, and he had to pass a late fitness test just to gain selection. Poor Thorpy though – he was desperate to get back to business. He had a knock in the warm-up match, and everything looked okay, but last night he came into the restaurant looking for the physio, and it was obvious he wasn't well. He had a jab, but that didn't help, and so he had to sit it out again.

Thorpe knew he'd need to be 100% to play in an atmosphere like that. Eden Gardens was amazing from ball one to ball zed. It was a great wicket and a great experience, and we are so disappointed not to have won it. You can lose the odd Sunday League match and instantly forget about it, but this was a special place, and it will hold special memories for my young side, despite the result. The Karachi win last year came in similar circumstances in a similar venue, and we still dine out on that.

But we didn't win – and unfortunately I'm not allowed to say where it where it all went wrong …

Still, despite everything, we had the game there for the taking. But pressure will always tell, whether there's eighty runs to win, or eighteen. In this part of the world, batting under lights with the ball turning grey, it will always be difficult.

In general though, our problem has not come when we've batted last. We batted second four times in Zimbabwe and picked up four comfortable wins. More importantly, not since that Karachi match have we gone on to win a close one. But every step we take is a small step, and we can only learn from days like this.

We've got six weeks now to concentrate on one-day cricket, which is exactly what our game needs. But I still maintain that six games in a fortnight, with all that travelling, is too much. Something will have to give. The likes of Hoggard and Flintoff have battled through a tough Test series, and I don't want the situation to arise where they've given everything they've got. We will have to rotate our squad, or else some of the guys will start playing on memory alone.

For that reason, it was good to have Darren Gough fresh and back in the side. It was always going to be a toss-up between him and Caddy, as Matthew Hoggard proved himself in the Tests and was a definite starter. In the end we plumped for Goughie, because as we all know he can just jump into a situation as if he's never been away. Caddick needs to get some overs under his belt, which is no criticism, just a fact of his game.

The transition from Test matches to a one-day mentality is quite easy where your own game is concerned, but from a team – and captaincy – point of view it's much harder. In a Test match you can set long-term plans, but in one-day cricket every ball is crucial, especially where India are concerned. They really came at us today, in a way we didn't see in the Tests. Then, they were more concerned about their off stump, and I must admit that surprised me. With the sort of talent they've got, they should be attacking us all the time.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. His thoughts will appear on Wisden.com throughout the one-day series.

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