VB Series, Match 2
Sunday, December 15, 2002 Shane Warne's injury is a major worry, and it is a pity that it overshadowed another awesome, clinical batting display from Australia. His shoulder is now back in its socket, but there are plenty other concerns – whether the rotator cup is broken, whether the ligaments and tendons are damaged. Personally, I think he could be in trouble.

The World Cup is two months away, so the first thing is to get the diagnosis out. After that, there is the problem of the squad selection deadline on December 31. Will Australia gamble on selecting him before he can prove his fitness, and if so, can he then be replaced? If not, Shane Warne will be out of the World Cup.

Warne's likely replacement would be Stuart MacGill. He is a very good wicket-taker in domestic one-day cricket, although he's not Warne's equal on good batting wickets, where the onus is on bowling tight and defensively ball-in, ball-out. But MacGill has not been picked for any Australia A matches this season, so something is definitely amiss there.

Another option would be Brad Hogg, the left-arm leggie. He has hardly set the world alight, but he can bat a bit and offers a lot in the field – the selectors certainly rate him. Then there's Nathan Hauritz, a more conventional, defensive offspinner. But none of these guys stack up to the Warne factor – it would be a huge hole to fill.

Today's game was Australia's from the very first ball, and once again, England's field of communications wasn't quite there. Adam Gilchrist started slowly for once as Ricky Ponting set off like a savage, but they settled into a quite magnificent partnership – one of the best I've seen. It would be harsh to criticise the inexperienced English bowlers, let's just praise the ability of the Australians.

On that sort of form, Ponting would scare any attack in the world. He was pulling good-length balls off the front foot for six - at the MCG of all places, one of the biggest grounds of all. And yet his first scoring shot was a big, powerful cover drive that scared Kirtley into dropping a touch shorter. So both facets of his game were in perfect working order today.

Ponting started off by slogging his way to 42 from 28 balls, then pushed the singles as Gilchrist took over. It was the perfect combination, and less conventional than the Hayden-Gilchrist partnership in first game. England really didn't do too much wrong. They might have tried a few more yorkers, but even if they'd defended from the word go, they'd still have been looking at at least 270.

Once again though, England let themselves down with their running between the wickets. Along with your fielding, that's the one aspect of your game that no-one can affect. But England continue to disappoint. There was no calling, no communication whatsoever – no-one even looked to be having any fun out there. Ronnie Irani's was terrible – he hadn't a clue what his partner was up to.

At least Craig White is hitting some form with the bat, and in fact, after a poor start, he's beginning to make quite a decent tour for himself. Statistically, people will be asking, "why wasn't he in the squad all along?" White looked as stiff as a board at Brisbane, but he's got a bit of cricket in his body now, and as a result he's running into fitness and form.

England, though, could and should have made a better attempt at going for that bonus point, and Sri Lanka will have loved seeing that. They'll be hungrier for everything going when they make their first appearance. Tuesday night is going to be a vital game for England – and a chance for them to show their true colours to the Australian public.

Ian Healy, who kept wicket for Australia in six winning Ashes series, will be providing his Expert View at the end of each England v Australia match during the VB Series. He was talking to Andrew Miller.

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