To bat or not to bat? That is the question

Everywhere you go in England at the moment, the cricket public has just one question: "What possessed Nasser Hussain to put them in?" The question is usually followed by an observation: "It couldn't have been worse for England."

In my humble opinion, it could have been a lot worse. Not for poor Simon Jones, for whom it is hard to imagine things taking a more depressing turn. He had made an impression both on the tour and in this match, and all hopes must now be centred on a full recovery.

On the question of the toss, Hussain will acknowledge that the day did not go according to plan and the injury to Jones did not help. In fact, this was one toss that he could probably have done with losing. The state of play at the end of day one might well have been the same, but the captain would not have been shouldering the responsibility as he is now.

As things have worked out, it will not go down as the greatest decision Hussain ever made, but that is with hindsight. It was not made alone, as Duncan Fletcher, the coach, has put it on record that he was privy to the strategy of winning the toss and fielding first. In this case there is a hollow ring to old claim that fortune favours the brave. It was a brave decision, but lady luck was looking elsewhere at the time.

There is no room for the word "if" in top international sport. But just consider another possibility. That in running back at fine leg, Jones had held on to the catch offered by Matthew Hayden when he was on 40, as he did, without going over the boundary rope. The circumstances that later incapacitated the Glamorgan fast bowler would not have pertained, he could have taken another couple of wickets, and other bowlers might have responded to bowl better than they did. Throw in a couple of catches held rather than dropped, as they usually would be, and what have you got then?

Quite possibly Australia 280 for six at stumps, and that would have gone down as a splendid effort by England. And what a great decision by the captain to put the opposition in to bat. As things turned out, perhaps it was egg all over the captain's face rather than the sun block it appeared to be.

As he walked off at close of play, he would not have enjoyed seeing a scoreboard that read "Australia 364 for two". However, I would suggest he would have rather seen that score than one that read "Australia 200 for two" - if it was in reply to an England first innings of 180 all out. A first morning crackling with tension and England's swept away before lunch. At least the perceived strength of the side - the batting - is still to come.

It might have been a defensive move to field first, but this is a five-match series and Hussain likes to play the waiting game. He is no fool, and would have considered the possibility of putting Australia in and then seeing them romp away towards a huge total. Making use of any helpful conditions before lunch would have been an eminently preferable scenario, but he would have been aware of the consequences if it did not work out that way.

To hear some people talk, England have lost the match, the Ashes, the series, all hope and might as well come home now. What nonsense. They have been on the receiving end on the first day of a possible 25 in the series. Australia are unlikely to lose this match from here. But if the England batting line-up, with the top seven all makers of Test hundreds in the past, perform anything like they should, England are quite capable of salvaging a draw.

Former Australian wicket-keeper Ian Healy said that if Australia do not win from here, it will be regarded as a defeat. England certainly took comfort from the match against Queensland immediately prior to the Test when, faced with a home first innings total of 582, the tourists batted out for the draw. It will need a big effort but can be done. If (that word again) it does work out that way, it would certainly justify what appeared at the time to be a curious decision. Not many captains would have made it, but then not many captains have a cricket brain like that of the England skipper. His track record demands that judgement should be reserved at least until the end of the Test.