Trevor Bayliss admits England's Test side is suffering from lack of competition for places, a dearth of top-order specialists and a "muddled" mindset.

The head coach did not sugar the pill as he picked over back-to-back defeats against the West Indies, by crushing margins of 381 runs in Barbados and 10 wickets in Antigua, diagnosing some fundamental issues with the available batting options.

England have been rolled over far too easily in the Caribbean with scores of 77, 246, 187 and 132 showing up flaws in temperament and technique.

The results of the one-day side have been more consistent over Bayliss' four-year reign, leading to a well-deserved world number one ranking in the 50-over format. The Australian has overseen a wildly successful change in approach against the white ball, focusing on relentless aggression, but he now concedes the Test team are less clear about how to apply his principles.

"It could have been misinterpreted on the inside," he added.

"We've got the one-day team that goes out and plays that way, but sometimes I feel the message between one-day cricket and Test cricket gets muddled a little. Test team versus one-day team, there's a bit of a different mindset and different rates of success."

Explaining the decision to send the group away for a period of introspection rather than a stint of so-called 'naughty boy nets', Bayliss said: "We posed some questions to them in the changing room, giving them 24 hours to have a think about it, and then have an informal chat.

"It won't be me standing up in front of them like a schoolteacher. There are some deep conversations going on."