Prior promises England fight

Headingley and the Ashes will forever be synonymous with remarkable turnarounds, but England will require a comeback to rival that of Ian Botham and pals in 1981 if they are to recover from a devastating first day of the fourth Test. But at least their wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, has shown the way to a revival - he bounced back from a pre-toss back spasm that put his participation in severe doubt to top-score for England with a spirited 37 not out from 43 balls, and in his estimation, this match is far from over.

"We can get out of this," said Prior, after England had been rolled over for 102 in their first innings, the sixth lowest total in Headingley's 69-Test history. "It's not been a good day, and we're behind the eight-ball, but this game turns around so quickly and there's still enough in this wicket. It's still moving around, still swinging, and we've got four days to come back which is good for us. We're annoyed with today, but we're raring to go for tomorrow to put things right."

All the while that Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson were compiling a second-wicket stand of 119, England's hopes of fighting back looked as derelict as the spanking new pavilion that Yorkshire had hoped to be able to unveil for this contest. But by claiming three wickets in three overs in the final session, England reminded themselves that they have the ability to rattle Australia's batting line-up.

When Steve Harmison tore into Michael Clarke in a thrilling final spell, cracking him on the helmet and glove from consecutive deliveries, England believed they had a sniff of an opening. "The way Steve has come in has been brilliant," said Prior. "He's been fired up and he wants to stamp his mark on this game, and the way he charged in at the end there is always very exciting when you're on his team. We were a bit gutted not to get a couple more [wickets], but that's for tomorrow. We'll come back hard tomorrow."

For all the fire that they showed in that final session, England already trail by 94 runs with six Australian wickets standing, and Prior admitted that James Anderson may have tweaked his hamstring while stretching for the quick single that extended his run of 53 innings without a duck. But nevertheless, he remained confident in the abilities of England's five-man bowling attack.

"Early wickets tomorrow morning will be important, but we believe we've got the bowlers in the dressing room that can turn this game around," he said. "And when we get our chance to bat again, there are going to be some very, very determined batsmen. If we can get a couple of early wickets, bowl them out cheaply tomorrow morning, have a solid start with the bat and claw away at their lead, the game can turn around very quickly."

Prior was at a bit of a loss to explain England's flaccid start to the day, although he insisted that he had nothing to do with either the 5am fire alarm at the team hotel, or the absence of the talismanic Andrew Flintoff. "We're a very very tight unit, very tight in the changing room, and we know that every single player in that squad is as important as any other," he said. "Whoever is spoken about most is irrelevant to what goes on in the changing room. Each member of the squad is a matchwinner in our eyes."

Right now, however, the matchwinners look to be all Australian, not least Stuart Clark, whose return to the starting XI galvanised their bowling attack. "First and foremost the Aussies bowled well," said Prior. "They put the ball in the right areas enough times, and you know as a player if the opposition are doing that, it's always going to be tricky. The guys will hold their hands up and admit there were some dismissals that they could have not had, but that's cricket."

Clark, for his part, took his England record to a remarkable 29 wickets at 15 in less than six full Tests, but admitted his surprise that his three-wicket haul today had been so easy to come by. "Whenever a side gets bowled out for 100 you're a little bit surprised. That doesn't happen a helluva lot," he said. "I just wasn't quite sure what was going on. Maybe we bowled pretty well, maybe they had one of those days where they nicked them and we missed them."

The match situation has left the destination of the Ashes on a knife-edge. Australia trail 1-0, but with this match tilted so far in their favour, they seem sure to head to The Oval at the end of the month needing a draw to retain the urn. Clark, however, was adamant that no such thoughts would dare to creep into the Australian dressing-room.

"I don't think we've even talked about retaining the Ashes at this point," he said. "We've talked about getting well in front in this game, because we're in a good position, given that we bat well tomorrow. So that's probably the furthest thing from our mind. It's more if we have a good day tomorrow, it's another step on the way to the end prize."