5 Things Learned After First Ashes Test

3. Is Alistair Cook Too Passive As Captain?

Michael Clarke does not let the grass grow under his feet as captain of the Australian cricket team. Field changes and bowling changes are often revised or even reset as Clarke tries to look for the one weakness that will see the back of another hated enemy batsman. Mitchell Johnson, for all of his heroics, had a relatively ordinary first spell of three overs with the new ball before Clarke yanked him off. As soon as Harris got the breakthrough and Trott was on his way to the crease, however, Clarke immediately deployed Johnson to dismantle Trott. When Carberry looked set against pace, Clarke employed Lyon and almost immediately Carberry's batting demeanour went from steady to survival. He then, with Johnson, conspired to remove Carberry to the pavilion. Cook has on occasions been criticised for his captaincy style, which can look a bit...prosaic. While he must be credited for leading an England side to a run of 13 matches with no loss, this Test will give ample fuel to critics who believe that Cook often allows sessions to drift away without resorting to Plan B. A good example of this was during Michael Clarke's second innings, where it rapidly became clear that Broad's short stuff that ruffled the Australian captain in the first innings was not working, Cook seemed to be too content to allow the two batsmen to score at almost a run a ball. While Clarke and Warner were in fine touch, and there is no doubt that the bowlers of England were stiff after a long time toiling at the crease, Cook did not try anything to try and wrest some initiative away from Australia. Many have pointed out that sometimes an ugly draw can be as useful as a win when it comes to momentum. However, playing ugly cricket is not the same as playing reactive cricket- particularly when you are behind.