BBC SPORT | Cricket | The Ashes | Hard work ahead for England



By Matthew Hoggard England bowler in Australia

There is no point in sulking after a defeat like the one we suffered in Brisbane on Sunday.

We have to think about where we went wrong and what we can do to put things right.

We had a dressing down from the captain afterwards - he said Australia had set the benchmark higher and we have to move with that.

We were playing the best team in the world and perhaps we showed them too much respect

We will have to up our training in the nets and increase our thinking and dedication because that's what Australia do.

The first day was tough - to bowl without having four seamers in the side can take it out of you and the loss of Simon Jones was a big blow.

To score almost 400 in reply was a big plus but in the second innings they scored freely.

And 79 all out was just not acceptable on that wicket. We were under pressure but got out to rash shots.

There was a mixture of excitement and nerves at the start but you can't blame it on nerves - we've all played Test cricket before.

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The loss of Jones was a major blow
We were playing against the best Test team in the world and perhaps we showed them a little too much respect.

But, although people are upset and disappointed, we're not despondent.

There will probably be calls for wholesale changes to the team but I don't think that's necessary.

If you can have a set team over a period of time it makes a lot of difference in terms of building team morale and understanding.

Everybody can play at this level - it's just a matter of improving our consistency.

Hayden dominance

Personally I will be working on my lines and lengths, putting cones down in the nets and looking to hit them six times out of six - four out of six just isn't good enough.

And I will spend some time bowling to our left-handers Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher, to try and prepare more for Matthew Hayden.

Matthew Hayden
Hayden was a class apart
Hayden seemed to be playing a different game in Brisbane. His performances have just escalated over the last year or so.

He's a clean striker of the ball but he's big and strong so when he does mis-hit it can still go for four.

But he did play and miss, and it only takes one of those to nick and go to hand.

We also dropped him three times during his first innings - something else we have to improve on.

We travel to Hobart on Tuesday and will have a few good days in the nets before Friday's match against Australia A.

Flintoff boost for England

They have named a strong second-string side, with some familiar faces in Greg Blewett and Matthew Elliot as well as the youngster Michael Clarke.

Those players will be looking to put pressure on the guys currently in the Test side, and playing against them should help us to do the same.