What England Could Learn from Marcus North

In terms of talent, not much separates Marcus North, Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell. Indeed, convincing arguments could be made that the Englishmen edge it. But it's the Australian who has worked out how to play a Test innings. While Bopara and Bell offer style over substance, North favours the latter, and in doing so offers both.

A look at the stats reveals North pays almost obsessive consideration to a shot that Bopara probably doesn't consider worthy of the name - the leave. His 125 at Cardiff comprised only 69 scoring shots and included a mammoth 173 dot balls. And why not? This is Test cricket, and not so long ago such stats were the norm.

North has form in this area. His 117 on debut against South Africa included 65 scoring shots and 168 dot balls. That Bopara and Bell take pride in aesthetics is no bad thing, but both must learn to prize their wicket above all else.

Bopara's 18 in the first innings at Lord's was scored at a strike-rate of 94.73, until he got carried away and fell lbw. There is a time and a place for such batting in Tests, but that role rarely falls to a number three batsman.

Clearly Bopara likes to score quickly, which made his two hundreds against the West Indies earlier this summer all the more pleasing - because they were scored at strike-rates of 50.35 and 51.92. The first of those innings included 204 dot balls. So he can do it.

For all the good temperament shown on those occasions, he was dropped a number of times by sloppy West Indian fielders. This is something else he must work on - 50 per cent of his Test dismissals (7/14) have been caught, and only once by the wicket-keeper. This suggests an abundance of unnecessary shots - too risky an approach to Test cricket, especially against quality opposition. Time to rediscover the art of the 'leave'.

First Test, Day Five, Lunch Time. Australia Nearly There.

England lost three wickets this morning in stumbling to 102-5. They still trail by 137.

Come the Lord's Test, England have very few positives to cling to. I defy even Andrew Strauss to 'find the positives' from this match. There have been plenty the past six months, but none the past five days.

Collingwood, who has batted well for his 35*, and Flintoff have a chance to provide one positive. Forget saving the match - for now - they should be aiming to be in at tea. That way they give the team a chance of a draw, and, crucially, will have played out a passage of play during which they frustrated Australia and stopped them, for the first time this match, looking like a world beating attack. After all, the pitch is not doing much. It's a tough ask, but a situation they've got themselves into. A limp capitulation here would undo much of England's recent rebuilding work. This session could have a bearing on the Lord's Test.

First Test, Day Four, Tea Time. England In Trouble.

Australia declared on 674-6. England are 20-2, 219 runs behind.

The rain has come, and it's grim on the field as well as off. Australia batted with ease again, with Haddin and North joining Ponting and Katich as century makers. Whenever Strauss and Pietersen resume, which looks likely to be tomorrow, they, and the next batsmen in, have a mammoth task on their hands in saving this game and atoning for their poor first innings efforts.

For me there are two major reasons why England find themselves in trouble in Cardiff:

• Batsmen failing to push on - All the batsmen and all-rounders apart from Cook got in before getting out. This is good in that they proved they can score runs against this attack, but bad in that it shows a lack of responsibility/concentration/ application/intent/ability. It is an inexcusable fact that no batsman passed 70.
• Bowling plans - Either Australia have them and England don't, or Australia's are vastly more effective. Bowling wide of the off-stump may tempt Phil Hughes, but England wont snare Katich or North like that (because they showed the patience and restraint which was missing from England's innings.) Similarly, bowling full and straight to Pietersen has the effect of unsettling him. Kudos to Ponting - whose captaincy is something of an issue in Australia - but it's simple homework really.

First Test, Day Three. Australia Well In Control.

Australia end the day on 179-5, 44 runs ahead of England.

Dispiriting day, and one which, barring a miraculous start to day four, has left England battling to draw this first Test. So far, the pitch has flattened out as the match progresses, and ultimately it is the timid and edgy first innings batting effort that has put England in this position. Fortunately, the batsmen have a chance to atone, and prove they are better than day one - which they are, (each of the top four were out in disappointing fashion.) A team innings in which no one scores over 70 will not be acceptable again in this series. Ponting and Katich stood up for Australia, and, whether it happens tomorrow or on Sunday, a couple of England batsmen will need to do the same.

Broad took the wicket of Clarke just before the end of the evening session. That should do him the world of good. Throughout his short international career he has made it a fool's game to write him off - using a number of knock-backs as a launch-pad for triumph. I'm sure a difficult start to his Ashes career will prove no different.

First Test, Day Two, Morning Session

England eventually all out for 435.

99 added to overnight score, and at quite a rate. 66 runs flowed from the first nine overs of the day, 16 off one Hauritz over which included three successive fours from Swann. Swann and Anderson made their 50 partnership from 38 balls. One day stuff.

England's perceived weakness - their lower-middle order - has got them into this match. The batting during the first few hours of yesterday's play was cagey and nervy. Apart from Bopara, the approach was conservative. Yesterday evening and this morning was anything but. Memories of the first day of the 2005 Edgbaston Test were evoked by Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann and even Anderson - who all batted with fluency and aggression in taking the fight to the Aussies. It was particularly good to see Flintoff batting naturally and positively. With a clear head, free of niggling doubts about technique, he is capable of scoring a number of 50s in this series.

Psychologically this morning's tail wag and Swann's targeting of Hauritz has put England in a strong position. Also, the pitch is turning more than yesterday. It will be fascinating to see how Australia approach their innings.

First Test, Day One: Australia Edge It. Just.

England won the toss and finished on 336-7.

Morning Session (belonged to): Australia

Afternoon Session: England

Evening Session: Australia

No big scores yesterday, but all batsmen (other than Cook) at least made starts. England finished the morning session on 93-3, having looked a bit shaky - no doubt a combination of poor recent Ashes displays, playing the Aussies on reputation and big match nerves.

I think the key partnership of the day was Prior and Flintoff's. Collingwood and Pietersen rescued the team in taking them from 90-3 to 228-4, but the bulk of those runs were scored in ones and twos with Hauritz and Clarke bowling in tandem to defensive fields - not particularly threatening. Prior and Flintoff, on the other hand, were the first batsmen to make batting look relatively easy. They were fluent and aggressive and the main reason England's run rate for the day reached an almost 2005-esque 3.73 runs an over. Their innings mirrored Pietersen's contribution to the Lord's Test of 2005, when he was the only batsman to offer any resistance and take the fight to the Aussies. His teammates caught up belatedly in the next Test - they wont want to leave it as late this time.

Talk of the day inevitably centered around Pietersen's dismissal - caught sweeping a very wide off-stump delivery from Hauritz. I nearly always defend Pietersen in such circumstances - buying into the 'but that's the way he plays' theory. However, as Hawkeye shows, there is no excuse for not pulling out of a stroke when a ball is that wide. Replays showed just how off balance he was in attempting the shot, which ultimately denied him the chance of getting a big hundred.

England can make yesterday a success by reaching 400 today.

Mike Atherton's take on Day 1