England must not panic

Former England captain Graham Gooch considers the home side's next move following another heavy Ashes defeat.

It was more of the same at Lord's, but England must not panic.

There is no point in the selectors seeking to make wholesale changes - as I'm sure they will not - as, barring the injured, that was England's best available side on the field at Lord's.

There is no miracle cure, but England must stay positive.

I cannot argue with the selection of the side for Lord's, but I would like to see a change to the bowling for Trent Bridge.

No light at the end of the tunnel

England lean too much on Caddick and Gough. Once the Australians see them off the pressure is lifted on their batsmen.

England need to add more punch to their bowling.

If he is fit and bowling well - which he wasn't before his injury - Matthew Hoggard would be my choice to replace Dominic Cork, while Alex Tudor and Chris Silverwood will also be in contention.

Cork is not doing the job at the moment. I still think it was the right decision to pick him for Lord's, but it did not work out.

I can't put my finger on why England are dropping so many catches, possibly they are being intimidated by the Australians and feeling the pressure, but they certainly can't afford to keep doing it.

Like Edgbaston, England created chances and again they did not take them.

Mind you even if they had taken them all at Lord's I do not think it would have altered the ultimate outcome.

But it would have allowed England to compete.

Butcher: Strengths and weaknesses

I seem to always be saying that England have to be at their very best to compete with this Australian side. If the tourists play at 90 per cent or above they will win, England need to play at the top of their game to stay in touch and they quite clearly aren't.

It will be a disaster for England if Graham Thorpe is forced out of the next Test.

Nasser Hussain is by no means certain to be back either - he is a big doubt - and for England to again be without those two would be a massive blow.

The key moments at Lord's came on Saturday morning when England had to make the breakthrough in the first hour and keep Australia's lead down to manageable proportions.

But they couldn't do it, which underlined the need for greater support for Gough and Caddick.

On the plus side, Mark Butcher showed he has got the technique for Test cricket. His runs in both games have been a bonus for England.

The jury is still out on his concentration. He needs to extend the rhythm and discipline he shows at the start of his innings throughout.

The way he got out on the second innings is where his problem lies.

Aussies: Catch them if you can

He has been out a few times like that in Test cricket, but he has a good enough game if he can just be a touch more judicious in his shot selection.

I want England to succeed, but from a cricketing perspective you can only admire the Australians.

I would urge any supporters to go and see them if they have the chance. They are a delight.

England simply must play better.

But, at the moment, it is difficult to see any way they can beat Australia.

It would need a miraculous turnaround.

With Thorpe's injury on top of everything else, there really is no light at the end of the tunnel for England, I'm afraid.

The talk in the media centre at the end of the game was of Australia winning four or five nil.

Unfortunately, it is hard to disagree with that.