We are going to have to go back to the drawing board and have another look at him.”That this game was a contest was due to an equally impressive opening partnership from Trescothick and Knight. He is in great nick and he has that arrogance, caused by having nothing to lose because of the runs he has scored. Hayden’s departure left Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann with the simple task of finishing the match off.Talking of Hayden the England captain said: “We have got to try and work him out. They threw themselves around in the field, but by then the damage had been done. His half-century came off 38 balls and when he was finally caught by Marcus Trescothick, two runs short of his hundred, he had faced only 92 deliveries.England continued to fight hard to get back into the match. The Queensland opener has only become a fixture in the one-day side in the last 12 months when he replaced Mark Waugh at the top of the innings after Australia’s failure to qualify for the finals of this tournament last year.The 31-year-old, who is rated the No 1 Test batsman in the world, proved he is just as capable in the shortened form of the game.

It was hit with such velocity that it went at least 10 rows into the crowd over long-on.Even losing Gilchrist, for a typically quick-fire 53, failed to quieten down Hayden. A straight six by Hayden off Andrew Caddick was the most punishing. The cut and the square-drive were played far too often for Hussain’s liking There was also some awesome striking, however. The first over of Australia’s reply was a maiden, but after that sighter the pair flayed England’s four seamers around the ground.The two left-handers were helped by bowling that gave them too much width. It was not and in reaching this total Australia had the satisfaction of pulling off the third-highest run-chase ever at the SCG.That they reached their target so easily was due to an explosive opening partnership of 101 in 14 overs between Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist. The crowd and the occasion lifted us a little bit, but it was not enough.”At a ground where there is a significant advantage in batting first, England’s score of 251 – thanks mainly to a workmanlike century from Nick Knight – should have been enough.

“It was pleasing to see the boys go out there and put on a show in front of a big crowd I think we had our big game heads on. It may be a big call, but the thousands of England supporters who will turn up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow – when Hussain’s team take on the same opposition – can possibly do so with a little more optimism.”We played some better cricket today,” Hussain said. Yesterday’s defeat, which leaves England without a victory in any of their 12 games on this troubled tour Down Under was probably the equivalent of reaching the 15th.For such progress all those following the touring side around Australia should be grateful. And to be suggesting so after being thumped again gives some indication of how poorly England have been playing.Before this one-day series started Hussain had suggested that – in golfing terms – his side had been shaking hands at the 12th or 13th hole during the Test matches.