I was actually going to start a similar thread - you have pre-empted me butchering lee

Australia has been exposed this test in terms of their inadequacy against quality swing bowling in optimal conditions. The last time they had to contend with that.......England 2005.

Not only with the bat.

The parallels with 2005 also flow on to the ball. Australia went in with a totally unbalanced attack for this test with three bowlers who hit the deck and try to get movement off the seam, and only one bowler (Johnson) who had any semblance of ability utilizing swing.

The problems of 2005 also remain the same. Who could Australia select to utilize optimum swing conditions? I am racking my brains, and cannot come up with anyone.

The problem Australia face is a bit like the problem England had against leg spin during the Warne era. How can you improve against a certain type of bowling, if there is none in the country good enough to supply you that practice? Makes things very difficult.

I don't know what happened to the classic Aussie swing bowler. We used to have them on tap, but the likes of Flemming, Reiffel, Alderman ect are no longer around. The last one of any real quality Australia had to my memory was Adam Dale, but they are now a bit like frogs in Queensland - you sit up one night in the rain and think "where are all the frogs gone? All i can hear are toads."

Certainly an issue that Australia need to address. They saw the writing on the wall in 2005, but seemingly ignored the issue hoping it would all go away. They better come up with something before the Ashes 2009, that's for sure.

Hopefully for Australia, this test will serve as a wake up call.

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