Adelaide Test, Day 2
Friday, November 22, 2002 Today has been a very dark day for English cricket. After the close of play last night I went to a function with about 300 English fans present, and the atmosphere there was almost as though England had won the Ashes already – everyone's hopes were high, as they were at the ground this morning, even though England were only just ahead on points.

But all those hopes have been decimated now. After their indifferent day yesterday, nothing was surer than an Australian fightback, but in the event they just climbed all over England. Jason Gillespie was magnificent with the ball, Shane Warne did his bit as well, and then Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer just ripped into them with the bat. England made the same mistakes time and again, and they must all be feeling very low tonight.

England do have a long tail, but with all the injuries I don't think they had an option. Alex Tudor wouldn't have provided them with many more runs than Steve Harmison or Matthew Hoggard, and, really, they needed to get as much as possible out of Craig White. But against a bowling attack of this ability, the batsmen have to look to dig in for the hard slog. Nobody looked ready to put in the effort this morning.

But it was in the field that things really went to pieces. England came out with plenty of theories, but Langer and Hayden were so aggressive that Hussain seemed to want to change his field placings after every over – I'm not sure the bowlers were up to speed with their captain. Mind you, it wouldn't have mattered so much if England had fielded well and caught well, but they let four vital chances slip through – two from Alec Stewart, one each from Mark Butcher and Andy Caddick – and that is something no side can afford to do against Australia.

These things happen – even Australia drop catches from time to time, as they did yesterday – but you won't often see the vital chances go down when the pressure is really on.

It wouldn't hurt to try bowling Caddick as first-change. He certainly couldn't do any worse than he did today. When he wasn't short, he was overpitching, and not even his body language looked like hitting the target. Hayden and Langer really took the wind out of his sails, and 0 for 61 from 10 overs is not what any side needs from its No. 1 bowler. In the first Test, England talked up their pace-bowling prospects but then missed a trick by not giving the new ball to Simon Jones. Harmison looked sharp today, and I think he could have done a job.

Richard Dawson looks an honest bowler – he bowled to his fields, even though they kept changing every over, and is an good prospect for England. He's certainly not the finished article – he needs to learn to bowl around his shoulders a bit more, to get that away-drift in the air – but it was a decent first day for him.

England bounced back from an indifferent day at Brisbane, and they can certainly do so again, although they need to do everything perfectly tomorrow. Australia, though, will be wary after what happened last time, and I'm certain they won't approach the day with the same complacency. Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting is a nice partnership for Australia to open with, but I wouldn't expect Australia to bat all day. The pitch is already holding up a bit, with a bit of variable bounce.

The first objective is to get a lead, the second is to make it a big one. A lead of 200 on this track would be huge, and Australia's aim will be to bat for the shortest possible time in the final innings. They can make a start tomorrow by batting themselves out of reach. England, on the other hand, can only hope to get back to 50-50.

Ian Healy, who kept wicket for Australia in six winning Ashes series, will be providing his Expert View at the end of each day's play in the Tests. He was talking to Andrew Miller.

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