England batsmen fail again

Bell has now notched eight fifties against Australia without making a century. He has also failed to reach a hundred in 32 innings batting at three.

This time he looked like he'd cracked it. He'd looked far from convincing in seeing off a fiery spell from Peter Siddle, and was very nearly gone without scoring, a bumper from the snarling Victorian just missing the wristband of his glove.

Bell having slipped Siddle's clutches, Ricky Ponting then set a rabid Mitchell Johnson on his tail. And despite some hairy moments, Bell gutsed it out and emerged from his hole unscathed.

One stroke, a 'persuader' of a cover-drive off the bowling of Ben Hilfenhaus, was glorious. An airy waft moments later, shortly before lunch, had you asking which stroke should be considered 'classic' Bell.

Then, having done the hard work, he fell to his first ball faced after tea, playing onto his stumps. Bat crooked, dangling away from his body, that was 'classic' Bell.

It is probably unfair to single out Bell - he did, after all, top-score with 72 - it's just that the Warwickshire man's England career conveniently encapsulates England's troubles. Get in, look comfortable, get out. But some of his team-mates were far more culpable.

After a first session in which England scored 108 runs, the ball racing over the outfield at regular intervals so that you wondered whether groundsman Bill Gordon had concocted a grass with a gossamer weave, a par score looked upwards of 450.

There was nothing that happened in the ensuing five and a half hours to make you change your mind. It was just that England, the recidivists of world cricket, kept frittering away wickets.

Captain Andrew Strauss, who up until his dismissal had been giving an object lesson in leaving outside off-stump, nibbled when he didn't have to. Paul Collingwood, who is so badly out of form his left arm is almost superfluous, wafted and missed, wafted and missed, before finally wafting and nicking.

Matt Prior, as Matt Prior does, flashed and dashed before playing one shot too many, before Andrew Flintoff, eyeing a Hollywood plot in his final Test, fell cheaply to a stroke that would have embarrassed a blacksmith.

Jonathan Trott, in contrast, looked compact and solid, and only a sensational piece of fielding from Simon Katich at short-leg prevented the South African-born batsman from making a fifty on debut.

Siddle bowled at a decent lick, Johnson, in his first spell at least, was nasty. But mainly Australia's pacemen did little more than stick the ball on a line and length. They know by now they don't have to do much else.

But while it was Australia's day - surely eight wickets was beyond Ponting's wildest dreams - England still have a chance of winning the Test match and regaining the Ashes.

The hosts have won five of the last 10 Tests at The Oval, so the common belief that the ground fails to deliver results, in Test match cricket at least, is something of a myth.

In addition, the footmarks that had appeared after merely an hour's play had Phil Tufnell in the TMS commentary box clucking with glee. England off-spinner Graeme Swann should be similarly encouraged.

In 1997, Tufnell's spin helped England to an unlikely 19-run victory at The Oval, taking 11 wickets in the match and 4-27 in Australia's second innings as the tourists were dismissed for 104.

Having seen part-time tweaker Marcus North extract plenty of turn on a first-day pitch, Ponting may be regretting not picking his front-line spinner Nathan Hauritz.

So while Strauss will concede that the first day of battle was lost, he also knows he has a weapon in Swann who could do untold damage as the battle wears on. But, oh, for a few more runs...