Perth Test, Day 2
Saturday, November 30, 2002 It was tough on England, losing Chris Silverwood for the rest of the match, but then again, Australia have always managed with three quicks and a spinner. And in fact, England were very honest today - Alex Tudor, Steve Harmison and Craig White all showed the right attitude, if not the discipline and patience I'd hoped for. Still, they looked as though they wanted to be out there - it was a big job, and they set about doing it.

Harmison, once again, was particularly impressive, despite losing his run-up. It's a nightmare for any sportsman to get the yips, be it golf or quick bowling, but he still managed to produce deliveries that were as fast as anything all day, despite a stuttering run-up. Harmison will have learned heaps today. He came into the innings knowing that England had a poor total on the board and with the added pressure of a bowler down, and he came through it.

White was pretty good as well and I liked his effort. He's an aggressive fast-medium bowler who gets the Australians playing shots - short balls, bad balls, yorkers, half-volleys - and so far they are forever picking out the man just inside the ropes.

But the Australian tail was a stark contrast to England's, and that all boils down to confidence and experience. Confidence in their ability, and the experience to go for it. Jason Gillespie, for instance, came out and wound up like never before - he's been averaging 1.8 for the year, but still produces an innings like that. England's tail need time to find out what they've got and how to best to use it, and time to build the confidence to try what he tried.

The Aussie tail was brutal, but the rest of the batters were at times brutal, but at times lazy and complacent. Some of them got out to shots they won't be proud of, but it doesn't matter - enough of them will always get enough runs to put the opposition on the back foot. It's a tribute to their ability that they were able to put 450 on the board in the manner they did.

Ian Botham has been saying that it's time to chuck out half the England side and give the Academy boys a chance. And certainly it is time to consider the alternatives. They've already got a distinct mission statement - to be the top of the tree by 2007, but now it's time to identify who are the current contributors, and who won't be around by then.

England, though, do need some quality and ability to remain in the side - I haven't heard of many alternatives to the guys in position at the moment - so when the changes come, they need to be done in an educated and considered fashion. Australia, for instance, dropped a lot of underachievers at the end of the 1980s, and picked guys such as Steve Waugh [and Ian Healy - Ed.] whose temperaments were unquestioned, but whose records at first-class level were a bit of an unknown. Their philosophy was, if we get the temperament into the team, then once they have relaxed the performances will follow. England have probably left such a move about five years too late, but it's better late than never. It's a long road, but 2007 is an appropriate goal, and now's as good a time as any to start.

Whatever happens to England, it mustn't just be a clean-out. Whoever comes into the side needs to be able to inspire the experienced guys into producing the goods. It's a shame for England that the Trescothick-Vaughan partnership hasn't come off as expected. That would have dragged performances out of the likes of Butcher, Hussain and Stewart. Mind you, whoever was in the team, they would have struggled to cope with Brett Lee this evening. And not just Lee - the whole Australian team was awesome.

Lee was in the mood to deliver - he was nasty with the ball, and there was plenty of heat out there, both verbal and physical. Australia were fired up. They wanted this over and done with, and it was a confident, positive move from Steve Waugh to give the new ball to Lee, with the breeze behind him and 41 runs to his name as well. Gillespie, though, will have been a little disappointed not to get the new ball - he's all over Trescothick at the moment - but Australia's message was, "We're going to get you!"

The media hype surrounding Lee is extraordinary - you'd have thought he had picked up eight wickets yesterday, the way it was being covered in the papers. In fact he only got three. But that's the impact he has.

Peter Roebuck has apparently cast doubt over the legality of Lee's effort ball, but I haven't heard anything about that. Either way, Peter is treading in dangerous territory. Whatever he's seen has been with the benefit of the super-slo-mo cameras, and the laws are not designed to accommodate such technology. It's unfair to make such a judgment - throughout history, many fast bowlers have had an element of kink in their action. And it's not as if we're talking about an action that increases the speed from 140kph to 180kph.

Throughout Lee's spell, Richard Dawson showed he has a bit of ticker about him. I think he could have fun tomorrow, having survived tonight's open warfare. He was excellent, he got right into line every time, and I think England will persist with him. I was disappointed, though, that he only got five overs in Australia's innings. Nasser Hussain didn't use him in any way at all with the ball. When he did get a brief chance, he knew he was just a sideline and, because there was no confidence in him, he did nothing. There is a good job to be done into the breeze here at Perth.

A three-day finish is definitely on the cards, although I'm a little more optimistic for England's chances of batting through the day tomorrow, after they got through this evening with just one wicket. That's probably not saying much, but England just have to approach the game as Australia do. Play by half-hour sessions, and trust that the runs will come.

But today was fantastic entertainment - and great Test cricket for the crowds at the WACA. Australia just refused to pull their heads in, no matter what.

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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