Cricket / First Test: England are handed a lesson in determination: The touring team begin their defence of the Ashes with an emphatic victory as Gooch's men succumb to their sixth successive defeat

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289 and 432-5 dec

England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210 and 332

Australia win by 179 runs

THIS match was a wonderful advertisement for Test cricket, even though it seems, at times, that Denis Compton was advertising Brylcreem when England were last any good at playing it. Yesterday's defeat, by 179 runs, stretched England's sequence of matches without a victory against Australia to 14 (lost 9, drawn 5) and they have now lost all of their last six Tests. What it also means, beyond much reasonable doubt, is that Graham Gooch will come no closer to the Ashes than any other Englishman prepared to pay 50p for peering at them through a glass panel in the Lord's museum.

England resistance yesterday went rather beyond general expectation, their last wicket falling at 5.25pm and with 9.4 of the statutory last 15 overs remaining. In reality, however, they lost the match at 18 minutes past two, when Gooch's heroic innings ended in such a bizarre fashion that it has only been witnessed on four previous occasions in Test cricket.

Merv Hughes, whose idea of a bull's-eye yesterday was rarely far removed from an Englishman's ribcage, dug one in short of a length to Gooch. The England captain played it down into his crease and, with the ball apparently dropping on to the top of his stumps, Gooch flicked it away via an involuntary backhand with his right glove. Dickie Bird raised the finger, and Gooch became the first player since Desmond Haynes (in Bombay 10 years ago) to be given out 'handled ball' in a Test match. There had only been 39 previously recorded instances in first-class cricket since the first one in 1857, most of them in obscure matches in Pakistan, and one in an 1886 fixture in Australia between the 'Smokers and Non-Smokers'.

Were that fixture still going today, sponsored by Benson and Hedges no doubt, there is not much doubt as to which team Merv would be on. There was smoke pouring from his ears all day, and he would undoubtedly be captain of the 'Short Syllable XI'. If Shane Warne was the official man of the match, then Hughes, who epitomised Australia's no-prisoner approach, might not have been too far behind.

England had only one contender, and for Australia's bowlers this has now become a single-wicket competition. Get rid of Gooch, and the job is more or less over. As for Gooch, unless he can get rid of some of the dead wood his job is more or less over as well. By the time his captaincy comes up for renewal, after the third Test, the Ashes might already be in Allan Border's pocket, but Gooch not only remains England's most dependable batsman, at the moment he is their only one. He batted for eight and a quarter hours in this match for an aggregate of 198 runs, and even Gooch, never one to look on the bright side, might consider himself back in some kind of half-way decent form.

He took his overnight 82 to 133 yesterday, but his 18th Test century, and 10th in 31 matches as captain, was not enough to stave off defeat. Nor was it likely to when the only other serious resistance came from the likes of Andy Caddick and Peter Such, whose 45-minute and 12-over liaison after tea gave England a tantalising glimpse of safety until Hughes plucked it away.

For most of the innings, England's main winkler-out was Warne, who wheeled away with his leg spin from the Warwick Road end in a spell, broken only by meal breaks and a night's sleep, that stretched from 4.30 on Sunday until 3.25 yesterday when England managed the rare feat of persuading an opposing side to go to the expense of a second new ball.

Robin Smith stayed long enough to suggest that you might just as well ask him to read a Japanese railway timetable as leg-spin, although, ironically, it was a rare instance of playing the ball with soft hands that did for him, watching it roll back on to the stumps off the full face of the bat.

Graeme Hick, predictably enough, discovered that Merv's quest for his scalp had more literal connotations, and after two balls in one over had come off the splice without anyone catching them, Hughes's moustache revolved through 180 degrees while he addressed Hick on the subject of what constituted a spot of good fortune. Finally, after getting him caught behind to a regulation delivery, Hughes sent Hick on his way with a blast that may place Hick in danger of missing Lord's with eardrum damage.

Warne, barely less expressive than Hughes when trying to coax an upraised finger out of Ken Palmer, finally got it just before boiling point after Alec Stewart thin-edged to Ian Healy, and he also ended an entertaining cameo from Chris Lewis.

Caddick, who resisted for 85 minutes, was brilliantly caught at the second attempt by Warne at backward square leg, and Such was last out, caught low down by Border at silly point. Australia's players made a beeline for the souvenir stumps, and those of them who have been playing against England regularly now have enough to open a timberyard.

Gooch said afterwards that what he now needed was a part-time Tiger Moth pilot by the name of Gower to fly him out of the country or, failing that, to play for him in the next Test. Well, no he didn't actually, but he did say that 'a left-hander might be a good idea'. The captain concluded by saying that he did not foresee wholesale changes on the way, and that 'you have to keep faith in the people you pick'. On the evidence here, the answer to that is 'why?'.

----------------------------------------------------------------- HANDLED BALL TEST DISMISSALS ----------------------------------------------------------------- W R Endean (SA) v England Cape Town 1956-57 A M J Hilditch (Aus) v Pakistan Perth 1978-79 Mohsin Khan (Pak) v Australia Karachi 1982-83 D L Haynes (WI) v India Bombay 1983-84 G A Gooch (Eng) v Australia Old Trafford 1993 Law 33 states: 'Either batsman on appeal shall be out handled the ball if he wilfully touches the ball while in play with the hand not holding the bat unless he does so with the consent of the opposite side.' -----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------- OLD TRAFFORD SCOREBOARD ----------------------------------------------------------------- (England won toss) AUSTRALIA - First Innings ----------------------------------------------------------------- M A Taylor c and b Such. . . . . . . . . . . . 124 (325 mins, 234 balls, 12 fours, 2 sixes) M J Slater c Stewart b DeFreitas. . . . . . . . 58 (165 min, 131 balls, 7 fours) D C Boon c Lewis b Such. . . . . . . . . . . . .21 (107 min, 90 balls, 1 four) M E Waugh c and b Tufnell. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 (41 min, 37 balls) * A R Border st Stewart b Such. . . . . . . . . 17 (69 min, 54 balls, 1 four) S R Waugh b Such. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 (19 min, 19 balls) ] I A Healy c Such b Tufnell. . . . . . . . . . 12 (62 min, 48 balls, 1 four) B P Julian c Gatting b Such. . . . . . . . . . . 0 (6 min, 5 balls) M G Hughes c DeFreitas b Such. . . . . . . . . . 2 (8 min, 12 balls) S K Warne not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 (34 min, 40 balls) C J McDermott run out (Lewis-Stewart). . . . . . 8 (30 min, 17 balls) Extras (b8 lb8 nb7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Total (441 min, 112.3 overs). . . . . . . . . .289 Fall: 1-128 (Slater), 2-183 (Boon), 3-221 (M Waugh), 4-225 (Taylor), 5-232 (S Waugh), 6-260 (Border), 7-264 (Julian), 8-266 (Hughes), 9-267 (Healy), 10-289 (McDermott). Bowling: Caddick 15-4-38-0 (nb1) (First spell 6-2-16-0; second 5-0-15-0; third 4-2-7- 0); DeFreitas 23-8-46-1 (nb3) (8-3-14-0; 6-3- 7-1; 6-2-12-0; 3-0-13-0); Lewis 13-2-44-0 (nb4) (4-1-13-0; 9-1-31-0); Such 33.3-9-67-6 (7-1-28-0; 26.3-39-6); Tufnell 28-5-78-2 (nb4) (11-2-32-0; 10-2-33-1; 7-1-13-1).

ENGLAND - First Innings *G A Gooch c Julian b Warne. . . . . . . . . . .65 (180 min, 137 balls, 8 fours) M A Atherton c Healy b Hughes. . . . . . . . . .19 (99 min, 74 balls, 2 fours) M W Gatting b Warne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (17 min, 12 balls, 1 four) R A Smith c Taylor b Warne. . . . . . . . . . . .4 (8 min, 6 balls, 1 four) G A Hick c Border b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . 34 (88 min, 71 balls, 5 fours) ] A J Stewart b Julian. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 (75 min, 49 balls, 4 fours) C C Lewis c Boon b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 (16 min, 12 balls, 2 fours) P A J DeFreitas lbw Julian. . . . . . . . . . . .5 (17 min, 17 balls) A R Caddick c Healy b Warne. . . . . . . . . . . 7 (28 min, 18 balls, 1 four) P M Such not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 (45 min, 33 balls, 1 four) P C R Tufnell c Healy b Hughes. . . . . . . . . .1 (19 min, 22 balls) Extras (b6 lb10 nb5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Total (303 min, 74.5 overs). . . . . . . . . . 210 Fall: 1-71 (Atherton), 2-80 (Gatting), 3-84 (Smith), 4-123 (Gooch), 5-148 (Hick), 6-168 (Lewis), 7-178 (DeFreitas), 8-183 (Stewart), 9-203 (Caddick), 10-210 (Tufnell). Bowling: McDermott 18-2-50-0 (nb7) (10-1-30-0, 8-1-20-0); Hughes 20.5-5-59-4 (8-3-21-0, 5-2-15-1, 4-0-16-2, 3.5-0-7-1); Julian 11-2-30-2 (5-1-11-0, 2-0-6-0, 4-1-13-2); Warne 24-10-51-4; Border 1-0-4-0 (one spell each).

AUSTRALIA - Second Innings M J Slater c Caddick b Such. . . . . . . . . . .27 (65 min, 48 balls, 2 fours) M A Taylor lbw b Such. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 (37 min, 26 balls, 2 fours) D C Boon c Gatting b DeFreitas. . . . . . . . . 93 (323 min, 255 balls, 12 fours) M E Waugh b Tufnell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 (136 min, 107 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) * A R Border c and b Caddick. . . . . . . . . . 31 (130 min, 87 balls, 1 four) S R Waugh not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 (192 min, 134 balls, 8 fours) ] I A Healy not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 (164 min, 133 balls, 12 fours) Extras (b6 lb14 nb8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Total (for 5 dec, 528 min, 130 overs). . . . . 432 Fall: 1-23 (Taylor), 2-46 (Slater), 3-155 (M Waugh), 4-234 (Border), 5-252 (Boon). Did not bat: B P Julian, M G Hughes, S K Warne, C J McDermott. Bowling: Caddick 20-3-79-1 (nb3) (First spell 4-2-11-0; second 4-0-15-0; third 5-0-17-1; fourth 7-1-36-0); DeFreitas 24-1-80-1 (nb1) (4-0-11-0; 10-1-29-1; 6-0-28-0); Such 31-6-78-2 (11-3-21-2; 4-1-3-0; 6-1-17-0; 4-1-10-0; 6-0-27-0); Tufnell 37-4-112-1 (nb1) (6-1-22-0; 6-1-19-0; 10-0-21-1; 1-0-1-0; 2-1-6-0; 12-1-43-0); Hick 9-1-20-0 (1-1-0-0; 6-0-11-0; 2-0-9-0); Lewis 9-0-43-0 (5nb) (6-0-28-0; 3-0-15-0).

ENGLAND - Second Innings * G A Gooch handled ball. . . . . . . . . . . .133 (309 min, 247 balls, 21 fours, 2 sixes) M A Atherton c Taylor b Warne. . . . . . . . . .25 (96 min, 72 balls, 4 fours) M W Gatting b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 (53 min, 34 balls, 4 fours) R A Smith b Warne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 (82 min, 65 balls, 2 fours) G A Hick c Healy b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . .22 (93 min, 71 balls, 5 fours) ] A J Stewart c Healy b Warne. . . . . . . . . .11 (33 min, 25 balls, 1 four) C C Lewis c Taylor b Warne. . . . . . . . . . . 43 (95 min, 77 balls, 7 fours) P A J DeFreitas lbw b Julian. . . . . . . . . . .7 (38 min, 26 balls, 1 four) A R Caddick c Warne b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . 25 (84 min, 74 balls, 5 fours) P M Such c Border b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . .9 (51 min, 36 balls, 2 fours) P C R Tufnell not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 (5 min, 0 balls) Extras (lb11 w1 nb4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Total (477 min, 120.2 overs). . . . . . . . . .332 Fall: 1-73 (Atherton), 2-133 (Gatting), 3-171 (Smith), 4-223 (Gooch), 5-230 (Hick), 6-238 (Stewart), 7-260 (DeFreitas), 8-299 (Lewis), 9-331 (Caddick), 10-332 (Such). Bowling: McDermott 30-9-76-0 (nb3) (11-3-33- 0; 11-5-20-0; 2-0-5-0; 6-1-18-0); Hughes 27.2-4- 92-4 (6-0-27-0; 3-0-17-1; 14-4-37-1; 4.2-0-11-2); Warne 49-26-86-4 (41-22-70-3; 8-4-16-1); Julian 14-1-67-1 (nb2 w1) (5-0-31-0; 6-0-30-1; 3-1-6-0).

Progress: Fourth day: Tea: 27 for 0 (Gooch 20, Atherton 5) in seven overs. 50: 48 min, 11.3 overs. 100: 113 min, 28 overs. Close: 133 for 2 (Gooch 82) in 37 overs. Fifth day: 150: 195 min, 48.2 overs. Lunch: 197 for 3 (Gooch 112, Hick 13) in 68 overs. 200: 277 min, 69.3 overs. New ball taken after 94 overs at 248 for 6. 250: 373 min, 94.2 overs. Tea: 273 for 7 (Lewis 27, Caddick 0) in 99 overs. 300: 436 mins, 110.2 overs. Innings closed at 5.24pm. Gooch's 50: 102 min, 74 balls, 11 fours. 100: 222 min, 172 balls, 17 fours, 1 six. Australia won by 179 runs Man of the Match: S K Warne (Australia). Adjudicator: J P Agnew. Umpires: H D Bird and K E Palmer. REMAINING TESTS Second: Lord's (17-21 June). Third: Trent Bridge (1-6 July, no Sunday play). Fourth: Headingley (22-26 July). Fifth: Edgbaston (5-9 August). Sixth: The Oval (19-23 August). -----------------------------------------------------------------

(Photograph omitted)

County reports, Scoreboard, page 34