England collapse like a house of cards on uneven ground in a gale

It's almost enough to make you agree with Duncan Fletcher. England's tail is as robust as filo pastry at the minute. At least they've made progress in that the tail starts at seven now, rather than six. This is because Andrew Flintoff actually did a bit of batting. In fact he did so rather well.

What hope has he got though, when the batsmen following him score 2, 0, 2, 0 and 0. In our review of 2006, we highlighted Paul Collingwood's last wicket stand with Monty Panesar against India as a high point. A bit of robust defence from the lower order demoralises the opposition. Conversely, regular wickets gee them up. England's current lower order smacks of the Alan Mullally years.

England 291 all out
Australia 188-4