By Martin Gough BBC Sport Online

Ask fast bowler Devon Malcolm about his last wicket haul for Leicestershire at the end of the summer and he may struggle to tell you much.

But his memory of England's last Test victory in Adelaide, in 1994/95, is as clear as if it were yesterday.

And the similarities with this year's trouble-hit series could be a good omen for Nasser Hussain's tourists.

England had lost the opening two Tests, the first by 184 runs in Brisbane, and despite a drawn third match they were then trounced in the one-day series, failing to beat Australia A into the finals.

Three bowlers - Martin McCague, Darren Gough, and Craig White - had already been forced home with injury.

And, after missing the first Test with chickenpox, Malcolm had managed just four wickets in as many Test innings.

"Nobody expected either England or me to do well," the Jamaica-born pace bowler recalls.

The batting looked equally unhealthy as Graham Hick's stiff back ruled him out of the rest of the tour on the morning of the match and Alec Stewart had fractured a finger for a second time.

DeFreitas fireworks

With Mike Gatting to the fore in his penultimate Test, however, they looked in good form, Gatting hitting 117 in a total of 353.

"Healy was gritty; I always said until you got him out you wouldn't get through them," says Malcolm.

Healy added 59 for the ninth wicket with Damien Fleming and time was running out before Lewis had the tail-ender lbw for 24.

In the end, they wrapped up a 106-run victory with 5.5 overs to spare, but dropped catches in Perth saw Australia clinch the series 3-1.

Malcolm believes that the current England team could learn from the mental approach responsible for that turnaround in fortunes in Adelaide.