Turning defeat into victory: elementary my dear Watson

It's been a long time since a confrontation between these nations began as badly as this match. After a compelling Test series and a vibrant couple of Twenty20 matches the 50-over format started horribly with both sides apparently intent on losing.

Only after supper did either outfit look remotely capable of taking the spoils. And then came an unexpected noise - the sound of breaking records.

Australia were so poor in the field that their opponents should have scored 330. Between innings nothing appeared less likely than resurgence, so it came as a considerable surprise to find Watson clouting the ball around defiantly while his partners batted with aplomb.

As the chase gathered momentum, even the birds became excited, circling as if in a Hitchcock movie. Suddenly, the sides were armed not with feather dusters but bludgeons.

Evidently, the Australian spirit was bruised but not broken. Michael Clarke and company deserve credit for that. Clarke has plenty of ideas but lacks power with the willow.

Watson batted with the vigour needed to lift tense comrades. Driving forcefully and clubbing cleverly, the Queenslander set about the task of pursuing the remote. If his straight drives were majestic, his clouts over mid-wicket were damaging as a toll was taken of the tweakers.

In the past year, this combative and once fragile all-rounder has become the most important cricketer in the country. Here he joined Brett Lee to turn the team around.

Looking fit and fresh, Lee had been Australia's best bowler. All things considered his rhythm and accuracy were remarkable. Nor did he flag as the afternoon wore on. His last few overs were as swift and varied as his opening salvos.

Birth certificates are not the only measure of a sportsman. If every local cricketer were as dedicated, the summer could not have gone as badly.

On this evidence, Lee ought to be not only a member of the attack in the forthcoming World Cup but its leader. Contrastingly Doug Bollinger, sold for $US700,000 at the recent IPL auction, was wayward and sluggish while Mitchell Johnson was patchy.

That Steve Smith only bowled three overs was the main oddity of Clarke's captaincy. In that brief spell, he landed the ball well and claimed two scalps. England's rustier batsmen could not get him away. Like Lee, he was a livewire in the field.

Among the Poms only Kevin Pietersen stood out. His form in this version of the game had been so poor that he had lost his place. Indeed it was his comeback match. England's ruthlessness in dumping players without fear or favour underscores its success. The other factor is its lack of exposure to IPL.

Pietersen had not reached 50 in his past 16 innings. Cricket is a fickle game, but it's not treacherous. Prolific in T20 and Tests, he had not found the correct tempo in this format. A batsman of his calibre does not need to play reckless shots. He concentrated on building his innings and to that end kept the score ticking along with strolled singles interspersed with powerful but orthodox strokes.

When Pietersen did attack it was too telling effect. Thrice he lofted the ball over the bowler's head, and each time cleared the boundary. Yet his best stroke was an off-drive that pierced the covers. Had proper support been provided he could have settled the outcome.

Still, the early offerings cannot entirely be overlooked. It's been a long time since a contest between these nations sunk as low. Wides, no-balls, full tosses, long hops, missed stumpings and dropped catches held Australia back. Maybe the tension of the occasion heightened nerves.

Not that England were much better. Some of the batting was brainless. Certainly the track was grudging, but the batters could not find a suitable tempo. Foolish shots and soft dismissals were commonplace. Steve Davies played a silly stroke, and Mike Yardy infuriated his partner by throwing his wicket away.

Others escaped unscathed from equally erratic essays. A team making that many mistakes puts its fortunes in the lap of the gods.