Wednesday, August 1, 2001 I have watched England at close quarters for almost a year. Every aspect of their game was excellent up to the Old Trafford Test against Pakistan. Last year they outplayed us in all departments. But all of a sudden the wheels have come off.

Injuries to key players are always damaging but even those taking the field are under-performing. I know they have the technique to take on Australia, and even though Steve Waugh's team is outstanding it is not unbeatable. India showed that and so to have Hampshire to a lesser degree. What should England do?

1 Be mentally tough. You have to give Australia as good as you get – tit for tat. Show this in your attitude when you walk out to the middle, in the way you face up to them, especially if tongues start wagging. England should relive their great performances of the last year and take that positive energy into the fray. It doesn't matter how good the bowlers are, the batsman have all faced outswingers, inswingers, googlies, and flippers before. England must put Australia under pressure and not be afraid of failure. Top players will bounce back, lesser ones won't.

2 Attack. England's batsmen look inhibited. Australian batsmen come in oozing confidence and playing shots. England are the opposite. Attacking players like Marcus Trescothick are fiddling around outside off stump, not playing naturally when they should either be leaving the ball or going for a boundary. In England, you can get an unplayable ball at any time, so make runs while you can.

3 Get forward. Too many England batsmen are rooted to the back foot and not playing forward when they normally would. Michael Atherton is a chief culprit. He seems to be thinking too much about who is bowling at him rather than what the ball is doing.

4 Stewart must bat in the top three. It is no good leaving a player of his class and experience to shepherd the tail. He needs to be in at the business end of the innings where he can take the attack to Australia. I'd like to see him open, but certainly no lower than three.

5 Play four frontline bowlers. Do not compromise. Only four quality bowlers will bowl out Australia twice. That means better back-up for Gough and Caddick, and Tudor's inclusion is a move in the right direction. Shame about his injury but I'd like to have seen Hoggard given an extended run. If England can't find two strike bowlers to back up the openers then the support bowlers should at least be capable of stemming the run flow and frustrating Australia.

6 Stay in the game. Duncan Fletcher can't afford to switch off. The players need guidance while the contest is full on. It's no good theorising afterwards. He should pass on his insights to the players during play. Most people can tell players where they have gone wrong after the event, but the coach's skill is that he can spot these deficiencies in the heat of battle. Sometimes a batsman can relax and lose his technique. With well-timed advice you can keep him in the game for another hour or longer.

7 Adapt or die. Have a plan for each day or session, but keep it flexible. Have a plan for each bowler or batsman, but make sure that you remember to change your approach when the bowling changes or the bowler tries something different. In the first two Tests England have been too wooden, too inflexible, and too predictable.

Javed Miandad was talking to Kamran Abbasi

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