England had no right to expect runs from Mark Butcher today: he had already been the bonus ball in the lottery of this summer's selection. But last night he was the one saying they must be positive and this morning, from the moment he walked in during the first over, he followed his own advice. By the time he walked off, undefeated on 173, he had given the performance of his life. It was the best innings by an Englishman since Nasser Hussain's 207 in the first Ashes Test of 1997 - Butcher's own debut. Today, four chequered years later, Butcher was composed, forceful and imaginative. He scored runs all round the wicket and off all four frontline bowlers. He cut, he drove, he pushed, he pulled, and above all he upper-cut. Third man, if there had been one for more than a few minutes, would have been a catching position.

Best of all, Butcher mastered Glenn McGrath. He pulled or forced him when he dropped fractionally short; then, when he fractionally over-compensated, he rocked forward and punched the ball through the covers. Simple, and effective. For a man who lunched on coffee and cigarettes, he looked utterly relaxed.

Adam Gilchrist helped, and not just with a declaration that came, like his eager boyish face, from the age of the amateur. He shouldn't be judged too harshly, because a wicketkeeper-batsman should never be lumbered with the captaincy, but his handling of his bowlers was naive. He gave Lee and Gillespie long spells at the same time, which then gave him no alternative but to bowl McGrath and Warne. A nice problem to have, you might think, but Warne has a thin record at Headingley and Butcher's partners were feeding off his assurance and playing McGrath almost as well as he was. When Ramprakash did edge the ball, it fell short of the slips - neatly mirroring the crucial moment when Ramps himself caught Ricky Ponting on 0, or didn't.

It was Australia's first defeat outside the subcontinent since Bridgetown two and a half years ago, when Brian Lara played an innings of Butcher-like brilliance. But give them credit: if they hadn't had their great run, and developed a supernatural confidence, then they would not have had the gall to set up this finish. For England, it was only a consolation victory. But what a consolation.

Tim de Lisle is editor of Wisden.com.

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