London: Geoff Boycott called England ‘pathetic' after a staggering collapse of six wickets for nine runs on the second afternoon of the first Test in Brisbane handed the Ashes initiative to Australia.
A fiery four-wicket haul from Mitchell Johnson, plus three scalps for Ryan Harris and two in two balls for off-spinner Nathan Lyon, condemned Alastair Cook's tourists to 136 all out – their lowest Test total in 45 innings.
That left former England opener Boycott fuming up in the Test Match Special commentary box. ‘That was pathetic,' he said. ‘It's very sad to see them giving away the Test like this. They have almost gifted the Test to Australia.
The performance against Nathan Lyon was tripe. They have a million staff but they can't work out how to play him. If you can't bat in Test matches, you've had it.'
Michael Carberry, who top-scored with 40 in his first Ashes Tests, admitted England ‘weren't up to it today' as they conceded a damaging deficit of 159 – which had swelled to 224 by the time Australia's openers reached 65 without loss in their second innings.
But he insisted: ‘It's always hard starting out against a bowling unit that has its tail up, which was the case for some of the guys who came in before tea. Australia had good plans. Early on you can be vulnerable, and we weren't quite good enough today.
‘For any batsman, whether it's in first-class or Test cricket, the first couple of balls are the toughest phase of an innings. If there are some good balls flying around, unfortunately sometimes if it's not your day your name's on it.'
That was one way of looking at England's calamitous slide from 82 for two to 91 for eight during a 54-minute spell that appears to have safeguarded Australia's long unbeaten run in Brisbane, stretching back 24 matches to the late 1980s.
The less charitable interpretation was that England simply froze in the face of Johnson's speed and hostility, with Jonathan Trott and Carberry in particular receiving a working-over against the short ball.
‘I wouldn't say we were shellshocked,' said Carberry. ‘But we're pros, and when things don't go to plans there's a slight feeling of disappointment. But we're a confident bunch in our abilities and we know we can bounce back.
‘Mitchell Johnson is a world-class performer. In terms of pace he's definitely up there with some of the quickest I've faced. More importantly, he put the ball in the right areas. That's tough for anyone.'
Australia's wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, whose combative 94 had helped rescue Australia's first innings from the depths of 132 for six, said: ‘Mitch has been bowling with some very good pace over the last few months. He was outstanding in India with his pace and today was just reward for a lot of work he's put in.
‘It's good to have him back in the team and it's always good to have those guys that can push the gun up near 150ks.'
Haddin described the wicket of Trott, who was strangled down the leg side by Johnson from what became the last ball of the morning session, as ‘a big momentum swing'.
And he revealed Australia's delight at successfully repeating the plans that had stifled Trott during the summer. ‘You have plans for everyone and they're no shock to anyone these days, with all the computer and the cameras around,' he said.
‘Everyone knows where it's going to come. But the bottom line is to execute that plan and our guys have done that now in England and the first Test here. So it was pleasing that it worked again.'
