Ashes 2013/14 – 1st Test, Day 4: 1-0 Australia

The Gabba, the venue for England's humiliation - © Rae Allen

Beginning on 24/2, chasing 561, England required a miracle to save the 1^st Test.

The list of requirements included a combination of batting long, poor weather and luck, alongside some kind of divine intervention.

Unfortunately for the tourists, despite the rain, and what could be described as a biblical hailstorm, England still came up over a day short in their task of saving the game.

As myself and Grant Yardley live-blogged the days play for Sports Gazette, it was clear that whilst England were giving a good account of themselves on day four, it was far too late.

The first hour went by uneventfully, with Cook digging in for the long haul and Kevin Pietersen going about his business in typically flamboyant fashion.

Straight after the drinks break Pietersen fell cheaply and any ideas that England may come up with something spectacular began to fizzle out.

His pull shot picked out fine leg, and unlike Cook who was carefully pulling the ball down, Pietersen, who was playing his hundredth Test, showed little regard for the game situation.

98/3 at lunch, having scored 74/1 in the session, meant that the honour for the first part of the day went to England, but it wasn’t something to celebrate.

The second session passed similarly, with only one wicket falling, and whilst it was cut short by rain and a hailstorm, 44/1 for that period was another relative victory.

Alastair Cook, the mainstay of the innings, passed 50 and showed glimpses of better form, but when he fell to his second ball after the rain delay, it was the beginning of the end.

142/4 quickly became 151/8 as Prior, Broad and Swann all followed their captain back into the hutch.

There was some brief resistance by Chris Tremlett, and Joe Root has every reason to be pleased with his 26 not out, but when Jimmy Anderson became Mitchell Johnson’s ninth victim of the match, the inevitable became reality.

After the match Alastair Cook spoke about his and his side’s disappointment in the way they had played, and one comment stood out in summing up the dire English effort.

Cook described Australia’s first innings of 295 as below par, and said he was pleased with the effort of his bowling attack first up.

England only managed 315 runs across BOTH of their innings.

The England captain’s comments highlight a need for a batting line-up, which has in recent years failed to deliver the consistent scoring required to win Test matches on flat pitches, to finally make their mark.

The inability to convert twenties and thirties into big hundreds is a worrying trend, and the form of Jonathan Trott must turn around soon.

It was not day four that led to a humiliating 381 run loss, but there was still room for a batting collapse as the end drew closer.

England must win at the Adelaide Oval in two weeks time, because their record in Perth is worrying, particularly considering this loss.

Session score: 2-1 to England – 8-4 overall

Verdict: England gave a good account of themselves for the first three hours, but the same problems that saw a batting collapse on day two re-emerged. Michael Clarke’s captaincy was creative and proactive, they had good plans for each of the English batsman, and Mitchell Johnson bowled aggressively and quickly. Australia were simply too good for Cook’s side; a big collective improvement is required.