Brisbane Test, Day 1
Thursday, November 7, 2002 When England arrived out here, I said in no uncertain terms that their medical condition was not good enough for the start of an Ashes series. But they have improved manfully ever since and I fully expected them to be competitive here. They still can be.

Today, though, that old Ashes curse struck again. It started at the toss, where I was very surprised that Nasser chose to bowl first on a good batting pitch. Not only did he waste the best batting conditions, he handed Shane Warne last use of the pitch and the best spinning conditions. Not only was the decision incorrect, it was perceived as negative by the Australian players.

Nasser gave a valid justification after the toss, saying that he wanted to give his young quicks every assistance by exploiting what little moisture there was. But I feel he would have been better off backing his opening batsmen and saving his line-up from the perils of Warne on the final day. But there are two sides to every story - Nasser gave his bowlers their chance and he needed them to back him up. And really, they didn't bowl at all well.

But that injury to Simon Jones was very unfortunate. The Australians have been looking forward to seeing him have a good series, but now it's over before it's begun. That moment really took the wind out of England's sails - in the year leading up to this series their fielding has been really good, but come the Ashes the same old faults keep reappearing. All that can be is pressure. Michael Vaughan misfielded in the very first over, and Vaughan has probably not misfielded once in the last 12 months. That tells a story.

The chance Vaughan put down was simple; the one that Matthew Hoggard put down could probably have been made to look simple, but in the end it looked awful. That's just pressure - pressure and concentration, and not being out there enjoying the moment. England have not had many moments today, but they did not look as if they were out to have fun. They looked heavy in the field, and there was no liveliness.

It may be Groundhog Day all over again, but I really believe this England side is better equipped to cope with the repetitive curse. This has been just one day of a long summer - tomorrow they have got to bounce back and show some fight - as Nasser said, there's no hiding. But this is still a magnificent batting wicket, and it'll be good and hard for a long time yet. England must bat well and buy themselves some time.

Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting were phenomenal. Ponting in particular was exceptional, although Hayden's form was not as good as his attitude - it was his attitude that pushed the bowlers onto the back foot. He was aggressive across the line, and scored in areas that England didn't envisage - he pulled balls from outside off stump, and adapted to everything that came his way. England, on the other hand, weren't able to decide on a Plan B when the day started to go wrong. Tomorrow, their wider balls need to be fuller, so that Hayden cannot whip and work everything into the leg side.

England have a handy pair of openers themselves, and they should do well when they reply. Vaughan has been one of the best batsmen in the world for the past six, maybe even 12, months, while the Aussie players all like and respect Marcus Trescothick's attitude. Mark Butcher, meanwhile, is relaxed and knows where he stands in the side, Nasser is in good form, Crawley and Stewart have done it before, and Craig White is useful at No. 7. England have the batsmen to reply to Australia's total, but unless the bowlers can stem the flow of runs tomorrow, they are going to have a lot of work to do.

Ian Healy, who kept wicket for Australia in six winning Ashes series, will be providing his Expert View at the end of each day's play in the Tests. He was talking to Andrew Miller.

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