England must win at Edgbaston in the first of back-to-back Tests starting on August 4, or the Ashes will be conceded as early as the 3rd Test match at Old Trafford the following week.

It's a common fact that the side winning the first of back-to-back Tests nearly always wins the second one. The winning side has great momentum and feels energised while the first round loser has no time to pick himself up.

If Australia go 2-0 up in Birmingham their momentum going to Manchester would make them nigh-unstoppable, especially with legspinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill likely to be bowling in tandem on a turning pitch.

So to get back into the series England have to put a number of things right in the short time available before the 2nd Test. But there are ways to close the gulf that separated the sides at Lord's.

GET MORE RUNS OUT OF MICHAEL VAUGHAN AND IAN BELL

The greatest positive in England's performance at Lord's was the batting of Kevin Pietersen, who has a handy average of 120 after his debut Test. He countered Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne with brilliant footwork and positive strokeplay. There is something of an irony that a man criticised for his one-day technique before the Test is now being held up by no less a judge than Channel 4's Geoffrey Boycott as a model for the other England players.

What Vaughan can learn is the importance of getting in a good stride forward against the pace bowlers to stop him getting caught on the crease. Vaughan must devote a great deal of the time before Edgbaston to working on his technique with coach Duncan Fletcher – as he has forfeited a county match to do - because if he continues to go cheaply (he made three and four at Lord's) McGrath's 5-0 series prediction is a distinct possibility.

What Bell can learn from Pietersen is the value of a positive mind. Both were playing their first Test against Australia at Lord's at around the same age but Pietersen looked confident, whereas Bell was clearly overawed, especially against Warne. Video analysis of Warne will help him pick the ball that did him in the second innings, but, most of all, he needs to clear his mind of negative thoughts. The Australian close fielders giggled like pubescent schoolgirls as he advanced down the track to Warne, and he succumbed a short time later. He must trust to his exceptional talent and back himself to the hilt to play positively against Warne, something advocated as the best method against the great legspinner by both Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar.

TIGHTER BOWLING FROM MATTHEW HOGGARD AND ASHLEY GILES

England's fastest bowlers, Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones were pretty threatening at Lord's, but England could not put a brake on Australia's scoring because their 'banker' bowlers let them down.

Hoggard was poor in both opening spells, straying to leg all too often against the left-handers, his waywardness a dispiriting contrast to McGrath's surgical accuracy. It meant that Vaughan had to overbowl his strike bowlers, Harmison and Flintoff, in the second innings. Together they delivered 54.4 overs compared to Hoggard's 16. But the fast-medium workhorse Hoggard is the one who should be doing the hard yards, leaving the others free to operate in shorter bursts as strike bowlers. Flintoff also needs to retain some energy for when he takes guard later in the game.

Ashley Giles was played with ease by Michael Clarke and Damien Martyn after tea on the second day at Lord's and has to find the self-belief to impose his bowling style on such good batsmen. This is not easy against such fine players of spin, but he delivered the ball more in hope than expectation at Lord's and can bowl a more attacking line and extract more spin on his home track at Edgbaston.

Vaughan also needs to show more trust in Simon Jones who bowled only 18 overs in the second innings despite looking threatening throughout. As a unit England must bowl more of an off-stump line than at Lord's, where Ricky Ponting for one, never looked like making a run until the ball strayed onto his pads.

IMPROVE THE FIELDING

A lot will be made of the six dropped catches at Lord's but they are a slight misnomer. There of them were spilled by Kevin Pietersen on debut, including the disastrous one with Michael Clarke on 21, probably because of over-exuberance rather than a loss of concentration. Pietersen is renowned for his safe pair of hands and will surely learn to relax a touch in the field and wait for the ball to come to him.

The other three drops came around lunchtime on the third day when Australia led by more than 350 and the game was as good as over. It must have been a demoralised England side that took the field after they had taken only one tail-end wicket in the morning session and seen the game slip inexorably away. Being charitable, one can put the misses down to pressure. However, England must recognise the danger signs that indicate a loss of intensity in their cricket - poor body language and loss of aggression - because, if they don't, another dropped catch will surely follow.

The other interesting aspect of the fielding was that Pietersen had two chances to run batsmen out from cover. He hit the stumps to dismiss Justin Langer in the second innings, but missed with Damien Martyn short of his ground. Pietersen will have more chances to throw the stumps down because Australia love to keep the score ticking with quick singles and he is quite extraordinarily quick to get to the ball because of his enormous strides. He can make up for the drops in the 1st Test by hitting the stumps again at Edgbaston.

MORE RUNS FROM THE TAILENDERS

England began the third day with a slight chance of getting back into the game. But Australia's Jason Gillespie occupied the crease for 71 minutes while Simon Katich built an unassailable lead. Gillespie only made 13 runs but his batting played a huge role in demoralising England and winning the Test match by a large margin. This barnacle of a batsman faced 52 balls in the second innings at Lord's, which is, coincidentally, the average number that he faces per innings despite a batting average of only 16.

In comparison, Hoggard, England's specialist in crabby defensive pushes, lasted only 16 balls in England's first innings when England desperately needed someone to stick around with Pietersen. Hoggard fell to a rash cut shot against Warne and would do well to copy Gillespie's more disciplined style. His dismissal forced Pietersen to go on the attack and, ultimately, to get out with England falling 35 runs short on first innings.

28 Jul, 2005