Duncan Fletcher points to missed chances in Brisbane

When England coach Duncan Fletcher spoke to the press at the end of the first day's play in the Brisbane Test, he blamed missed opportunities for the fact that his side found themselves on the wrong end of a commanding Australian batting display.

Three of the chances to which he referred involved Matthew Hayden who finished the day undefeated on 186. However, he was nearly caught when he had 40, but Simon Jones at long leg found his momentum taking him over the boundary as he held the catch.

The opener had moved on to 102 when Matthew Hoggard made an awful mess of getting in position under a skyer at mid-off and hardly laid a hand on the ball as it thumped into the turf. Next it was Michael Vaughan's turn when Hayden had reached 132. Normally one of the safest fielders in the side, Vaughan grassed a straightforward chance off Craig White.

Referring to those missed chances, Fletcher said: "Every opportunity that is given to you, you have to grab and we didn't do that today."

He also defended Nasser Hussain's decision to field first on winning the toss. "We thought it looked a little bit green and there was some softness and we thought we could help our bowlers but it didn't really move off the wicket," Fletcher said.

"We thought the pitch would get better to bat on and we have to make sure when we get out there we bat the best we can."

Fletcher also commented on the sickening injury that befell Jones in the field. "The team were pretty upset about it. I don't think they realised how serious it was, but there was some concern especially because he was just beginning to offer us something.

"We believed he was the kind of bowler that Nasser has been calling for that can do something different to the rest of the attack.

Kirk Russell, the England physiotherapist, said that there is no reason that the Glamorgan fast bowler should not make a complete recovery from his cruciate ligament injury after an operation.

"Surgery is fantastic these days and so is rehabilitation. I know what he's like and he'll work very hard. He will get the treatment back in England and I'm sure he'll be back as good as new.

"Initially I was more worried about his left knee when I first saw it because he took a big divot out of the ground with that. When you see it so quickly and you're there so quickly you think that maybe it's a fracture because I've never seen this type of injury in cricket before - it's a freak accident."

It was Ricky Ponting, who made 123, who drove the ball that Jones was chasing when he suffered the injury. He had been impressed by what he had seen of Jones before the accident.

"It's very disappointing for him and the England team what's happened to him today. He showed a bit, he's obviously got some good pace and Perth would have suited him down to the ground as well.

"He showed early this morning by claiming a wicket in his first spell and it's very bad luck for him."