The Surfer

From first over to last, they dominated proceedings, first with ball and in the field, and then with bat. If there were those who felt that England might have peaked too early in the warm-ups, then now it can be seen that they had not got beyond base camp. The only question is how to sustain it.

The keynote contribution to Australia's calamitous start to the series has been made not by the players but by the management and, in particular, the selectors. Such selectorial confusion used to be the bane of English cricket. It seems the Australians have now acquired the habit. There are a host of good players and strong personalities in the Australia team. But they are being undermined by their shambolic mismanagement

Selection chairman Andrew Hilditch and his off-siders Greg Chappell, David Boon and Jamie Cox must have greater faith than Mother Teresa if they think the same band of players who have been tried can beat England twice this summer. The middle order has its performers - Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke - but Marcus North and Ponting are pale comparisons of their best form. North does not look out of touch when he bats, but continually manages to fall short of big and important innings when they are most needed. Steve Smith is a young and capable replacement who thrives on pressure, a logical replacement.

Let's give the victors their due. If England is the fourth best side in the world as the rankings insist, then the top three must be playing well. For 10 days the Poms have resembled a well-oiled machine. Their intensity has been unflagging, their fitness superb, their catching sharp, their batting powerful and their bowling incisive.

Twenty20 is the sped-up version of the sport in which games last about three hours, more palatable to Americans than the oft-joked-about five-day format of international matches.

It was the disposition of a country in denial. England beat Australia 18 months ago, arrived here with a higher ranking and better recent form and, after a hesitant start in Brisbane, have tyrannised Australia in the last six days of this series. In the white noise of 365-days-a-year cricket, this shift in power has been lost. Forcibly, England have reannounced it. When England were at their abject worst a decade ago, they consoled themselves by showing endless repeats of their improbable win at Headingley in 1981. Now Australia has resorted to screening on continuous loop Shane Warne's audacious con job on England here four years ago. For Australia just now, yesterday cannot come too soon.

ODI play is all about confidence and finding a team formula that works. It is about getting players in the right positions, settling on a game plan, rehearsing it with success, growing to believe in it - and ultimately winning more often than not. Right now, they seem to have no idea. Watching them bat last evening was painful. Ugly and dumb dismissals, really dumb dismissals, to go with a total lack of batting initiative.

Cook can be a contradiction at times. He does not appear especially athletic. Sprinting does not come naturally. Indeed, Graeme Swann jokingly likens his style to that of 'Woody’ in Toy Story. His throwing arm is not strong. But he does endurance like Paula Radcliffe. He still looked as fresh as mint at stumps, even though he admitted: “At tea I was quite tired”. And he had only used one pair of gloves all day. When it was 37 degrees centigrade in the shade!

It was never thus. For decades the pattern was clear. On the vast expanses of unforgiving Australian Test grounds England tourists have been exposed as unathletic, slow and, quite frequently, old. By contrast, the Australians have been fast, slick and young. England were always second best in the field. They aren't any more.

What was your favourite innings this year?
In terms of memory, it was Lord's. I heard about the place and its history from my father and the moment I went inside the dressing-room I looked at the honours board and the balcony. Pete (the Lord's dressing-room attendant) told me that I would get a hundred after I made 53 in the first innings. When I reached 97, I was as nervous as I was in my debut game. But I had planned the celebration when I was in the 80s (laughs). That hundred made me very happy.

But if you consider from a batting point of view, it has to be the one at Old Trafford as it is the fastest and most difficult wicket in England. Funnily, Kevin Pietersen commented during my 86 in Chittagong that, "Cricket is so easy for you, right? You go to Old Trafford, then you will see." And I went on to get a hundred there, so it was really fantastic.

In Brisbane, Trott was twice dropped by Michael Clarke, on 34 and 75, on the way to an unbeaten 135. Clarke deserved credit for getting a hand to the first chance at point, but the second, at slip, should have been a cinch for any international cricketer. Yesterday, Trott was on three and at least a metre short of his ground when Xavier Doherty's throw from square-leg went well wide of the stumps. He then offered a chance to Mike Hussey at gully when on 10.

Doherty has also been handicapped by curious field placements. At times the Australians strain too far to accommodate different batsmen, setting pre-ordained fields designed to exploit technical flaws. It looks clever and everyone goes gaga when it succeeds but it is contrived and can put the bowler off his game. As often as not it's wiser to back the flinger by letting him focus on his skills and not on the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents.

Arriving at 4-96 is hardly ideal for a batsman, but it is a long way from the 3-2 that Mike Hussey saw on the scoreboard when he was thrust into the middle in the third over of the day. The gap between how Hussey and North responded was stark. In the 21 times North has arrived at the crease with the score above 150, his average is 54.79. With a record like that, North would have been invaluable in the formidable Australian teams of earlier this decade. But not in this team.

Harris, a former local before moving to Queensland three years ago, has 37 wickets in 10 Shield games at an average of 28 in Adelaide, while Hilfenhaus has a highly respectable 16 wickets from three Shield matches at 31. So the decision was made on instinct. As Ponting said the day before the match, Harris is quicker, hits the pitch harder and can bowl reverse swing in Adelaide. And his heavily bandaged right knee is now apparently fine too. What a package

Associations have two elements to consider: do they want marquee names who could put bums on seats, but with no certainty of stellar form; or do they want to succeed even if it's done with imports short on star quality, but capable of producing a solid return?