Mark Butcher revealed the secret to beating the Aussies. "At lunch," he said, "I sat in the shower, had a cup of coffee and a couple of cigarettes." Then, as quickly as he had blown the Aussies away, he joked, "Oops, I probably shouldn't be saying that, should I?" The roar from the crowd suggested no-one gave two hoots. It was the best day of Butcher's career, but at first he was lost for words. "I'm saying nothing", he deadpanned, before admitting that it was "pretty hairy out there for the first 15 overs."

Butcher was quick to praise the Aussie bowling: "They bowled magnificently as they have done all series," he said, adding, "I had a bit of luck at the start of the innings - I didn't nick any early on - and the ball started to get big towards the end."

Adam Gilchrist admitted his side had been confident at 11am, especially when Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath started so well. He put the declaration down to "one of those things a captain has to learn". Nasser Hussain duly thanked him for his generous declaration. It was back-slaps all round.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd