The Ashes: 5 Things We Learned From The Second Test

A 405-run defeat is probably all that is required to set some alarm bells ringing in a losing dressing room, but the fact that this humiliation followed a morale-boosting win in Cardiff must be doubly difficult for Cook and co to swallow. Any and all optimism that the first match brought to English hearts has been wiped away by this loss, and the momentum is undoubtedly with the Aussies now.

Which is worrying, because a lot of their team could be described as momentum-players. David Warner's record in the third innings of a test is impressive, and Warner with momentum and something of a cushion behind him is a completely different prospect to Warner having to set the pace. He has a tendency to be scratchy in the first innings sometimes, but coming in to bat with a 250 run lead allows him to play his natural game, which is tailor-made to batter the opposition into submission. 

The same can arguably be said for Mitchell Johnson. If you can keep him quiet early on and put together a decent score, Johnson tends to go into his shell. This was seen in the first test, as Johnson was left fairly subdued by the scorecard. Not so at Lord's, as the strong position of the Aussies lit a fire up Mitch's posterior, and his spell this evening to rip the heart out of the English line up was worrying for English fans, especially on such a docile pitch. 

A 405-run win is a pretty solid way to ensure momentum is on your side. If they wanted to win this series, England needed to take the momentum gained in Cardiff and run with it. Instead, they tried to run but found themselves immediately dragged back by a far hungrier side.

Maybe the series won't be so close after all.