A sense of perspective required

Former England captain Graham Gooch says victory in the fourth Test victory is no reason to get carried away.

Australia declared at Headingley believing the total they had set England was more than enough for them to win the game - that is what gave England the opportunity to claim a famous victory.

Adam Gilchrist and Australia could have batted England out of the Test but instead went in search of the series whitewash.

The decision for Gilchrist was a tricky one. He had to judge how long to bat for and yet leave enough time to bowl England out.

Gilchrist's decision was prompted by the desire for a clean sweep

But after most of Sunday was washed out, the choice was made for him.

England would have been under intense pressure if they had faced the 20 or so overs available on Sunday, but for once the British weather was favourable to us.

If more play had been available, Australia would have been able to post a declaration total that would have made it almost impossible for England to win - in excess of 400.

Even so, the target of 315, most pundits agreed was beyond England.

Despite a first innings batting effort, which saw England past 300 for the first time in the series, we all felt England, were not in with a shout.

It was not a case of Gilchrist giving England a chance of victory but him giving Australia a chance to maintain their quest for a piece of history.

I would have done the same thing if I had been in charge.

The new, hard ball on Monday was a handful as Atherton and Trescothick found out and things did not look promising.

Butcher's concentration was commendable

But the ball went soft and the sun on the pitch helped to make it less difficult to bat on.

Importantly, England adopted the right approach to batting.

They did not go out there survive, but their attitude was spot on - they went out to chase the total.

They went for their shots and were aggressive and the outcome was exceptional.

Nasser Hussain played really well considering how little time he has spent in the middle this summer, and Mark Ramprakash played his part.

But obviously the hero was Mark Butcher who played out of his skin.

In my opinion, given the situation and conditions, it was one of the great Ashes Test innings.

He never took a step backwards and took the attack to the Australian bowlers.

England's approach upset the Australian attack

I always knew he had what it took to make it in Test cricket - he played very straight and left the ball well outside off stump.

In the past, one of the criticisms of his play has been his lack of concentration after making a start. On many occasions he has got to 20, 30, 40 or 50 and then played a loose shot.

His inability to convert his starts into big scores is the difference between having a poor Test average and having an excellent average.

You could see during his innings that between balls he was really working on keeping his concentration.

In addition to his concentration, he has improved the way he copes with the spinners. His handling of Shane Warne was excellent.

He took all the right options in terms of shot selection and looked completely solid against the great leg spinner.

He has always played fast bowlers well in the past, but struggled against spin, but he was in control in his innings.

Hopefully he can take something from this innings and build on it.

I am delighted for him and the way the Australian bowlers buckled when they were put under pressure.

Butcher made them look normal on this occasion, even in conditions that were heavily in their favour.

That will give England a boost heading into the fifth test at The Oval.

It promises to be a very competitive Test.