David Lloyd: Perth defeat leaves us playing catch-up for the Ashes (3 December 1998)

3 December 1998

David Lloyd: Perth defeat leaves us playing catch-up for the Ashes

By David Lloyd

CATCHES win matches. Whether or not it's a cliche, it has certainly rung true in our first two Tests in Brisbane and Perth. We go into the third Test in Adelaide one down in the series and the challenge for the team is to come back strongly as we did against South Africa during the summer.

During these few days prior to our next game in Melbourne we have time to reflect on the games we have played. And whichever way you look at it, at this level more than anywhere, it is not just the chances but the half-chances, the reflex reaction efforts, that are so important in influencing the result of the game.

We have let Australia off the hook at critical times and we just cannot afford to give the likes of Steve Waugh and Ian Healy two bites of the cherry.

In the first Test in Brisbane, with Australia winning the toss and batting, we had them 106 for four and then 178 for five when Healy joined Waugh. We created chances but let them pass by. That duo drew on all their experience as each compiled centuries, and a late flourish from Damien Fleming took the Aussies to 485.

Alan Mullally was the pick of our bowlers with his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. They say the game is a great leveller, and it was big Al who was the villain of the piece as well as the hero. He inexplicably stopped the ball from hitting the stumps with Steve Waugh a yard out of his ground after a direct throw from Alec Stewart and good work in the outer by Darren Gough. Mullally is a real team player and was more concerned with his mess-up than he was delighted with his achievement.

Gough finished with one for 135 and even the Australian media were moved to say he was unlucky. He bowled with great pace and heart and performed much better than his figures might suggest.

Of our batsmen, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash all got starts and played wonderfully well, taking the attack to Australia. Butcher came into the game lacking runs but not lacking form and played with great certainty and timing all around the wicket. Our top order played with great confidence and I am sure this is the way against Australia.

Take the game to them and attack rather than sit back and let them dictate. They have been beating everyone over the years by doing just that and I firmly believe that you have to take them on in all departments of the game and look them straight in the eye.

We were in a healthy position at the end of the third day but then on the fourth morning Glenn McGrath all too easily accounted for our lower order. A world-class performer, yes, but not only did we not score runs, we also failed to occupy the crease.

This gave Mark Taylor's men an opportunity to put us under pressure and they came out in a very positive frame of mind with all guns blazing. Michael Slater raced to a century and Taylor declared, leaving us to face an awkward seven overs. We played positively and closed on 26 without loss, leaving us 322 to win on day five.

Our thoughts were solely on winning the game, and positive play, good running and keeping wickets intact would do it. What would be our problems? Well, the wicket was turning now and Stuart MacGill would play a leading part for Australia. Again, look to attack - don't let him settle - and put the bad ball away.

There was another cloud on the horizon, literally speaking. Australia and England had access to the groundsman's weather charts on the computer. Both sides were aware on the fourth evening that we were due heavy storms on the afternoon of the following day; to be precise at 3pm.

The forecast was influential in Taylor's declaration, and he gambled on nipping a couple out in the evening and then putting us under immediate pressure the following morning.

We started well enough with Butcher, Michael Atherton and Hussain scoring well. We fell away badly with some unforced errors and found ourselves on the back foot saving the game after MacGill and Mark Waugh took five wickets between them.

The groundsman had told us at lunchtime that the expected storm would arrive at 2.40pm and, in that understated Australian way, had added: "Pack yer bags mate. I've got the best motor mops in the world but nothing to deal with what's about to hit Brissy."

And so it came. I have never witnessed anything like it. Night time came to Brisbane at 3pm. It was pitch black with spectacular lightning flashes and in minutes the ground was submerged with water flowing into the dressing-room area.

Everyone agreed it was a terrific Test match. We offered a lot to the game but finished up on the defensive due to poor periods of play, something you cannot afford against Australia.

WE MOVED on to Perth through Melbourne, a five-hour flight with a two-hour time difference. Two days practice on those magnificent pitches and then into the second Test. Again we lost the toss and Taylor elected to bowl first. The pitch was fast, but with sideways movement on a slightly damp surface. We were bundled out far too cheaply, with a par score being around 220. The game was a long haul from there on, but our bowlers responded well and none of the Aussie batsmen looked comfortable.

All the same, they still had a 120-run lead on first innings. Alex Tudor made his debut in this game and I have to say I am really excited with his performance. Four wickets in the first innings, including the Waugh twins, gives notice of a young man with serious pace who made top international players look uncomfortable.

The general pattern in the game was that the new ball, with its extra hardness and bounce, was a real handful at the top of the innings, and our only meaningful contribution as a batting unit came when Graeme Hick and Ramprakash came together and launched a counter-attack.

Australia had to score only 64 to win the match, and although Gough, Tudor and Mullally each took a wicket as Slater, Taylor and Justin Langer went cheaply, the Waughs saw Australia home even though they had to take a few blows to do it.

So now we have time to reflect after a massive disappointment. We are paying dearly for missed opportunities, and the batsmen acknowledge Australia out-performed us in Perth. Character will be a big player as we must come back strongly in Adelaide.

Hick is now with us because of doubts surrounding Graham Thorpe's back condition. Thorpe, who had surgery during the summer, broke down and missed the Perth Test, but the good news is he came through a fitness test and batted in the nets yesterday.

However, he will need to keep proving his fitness over the next few days before a decision is made on whether he can be considered available for selection.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)